The prodromus of Nicolaus Steno's dissertation concerning a solid body enclosed by process of nature within a solid;

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Book

^HE volumes of the University of Michigan
Studies are published by authority of the
Executive Board of the Graduate School
of the University of Michigan. A list
of the volumes thus far published or ar^
ranged for is given at the end of this volume.

HUMANISTIC SERIES

VOLUME XI

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY

OF SCIENCE

PART II. NICOLAUS STENO'S DISSERTA-
TION CONCERNING A SOLID BODY
ENCLOSED BY PROCESS OF NATURE
WITHIN A SOLID

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

MSW VOKK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS
ATLAKTA • SAN FKANOSCO

MACMILLAN ft CO., Limitbd

LONX>ON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MBLBOURMB

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.

TOBOMTO

Portrait i>f Sten" in the 1*itti Palace.

THE PRODROMUS

OF

NICOLAUS STENO'S DISSERTATION

CONCERNING A SOLID BODY ENCLOSED BY
PROCESS OF NATURE WITHIN A SOLID

AN ENGLISH VERSION WITH AN INTRODUCTION

AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

BY

JOHN GARRETT WINTER

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

WITH A FOREWORD

BY

WILLIAM H. HOBBS

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

t.C

« •

> - »

• •- »

• •

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THE

LONDON :

MACMILLAN COMPANY

MACMILLAN AND COMPANY, LIMITED
I916

Jill rights reurved

314094

Copyright, 1916,
By FRANCIS W. KELSEY, EDITOR.

Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 19x6.

• «

• »

• • •

• ••

••

• •

•• •
• •

J. 8. Cashing Co. — Berwick A Smith Co.
Norwood, Mms., U.SJL.

J

PREFACE

The task of preparing this translation of Steno's Prodromus has
been lightened by the generous help of several of my colleagues in
the University of Michigan. To Professor W. H. Hobbs I am
indebted for suggesting the work and for reading the entire manu-
script, as well as for contributing a Foreword, Professor E. H.
Kraus read in manuscript the- section dealing with crystallography,
and Professor E. C. Case gave helpful suggestions in questions of
palaeontology. A point in physics was clarified by Professor W. D.
Henderson.

To Professor J. B. Wood worth, of Harvard University, my
thanks are due for permission to reprint the section entitled The
Interpreter to the Reader from his copy of the H. O. version, and
for verifying certain references. Mr. Bern hard Berenson, of Florence,
kindly furnished photographs of the portrait of Steno in the Pitti
Palace, and of Duke Ferdinand H in the Uffizi. Dr. Fr. C. C.
Hansen, of the University of Copenhagen, generously sent a photo-
graph of the portrait of Steno as Vicar of Schwerin. But from the
editorial side my greatest debt, and one I have especial pleasure in
acknowledging, is to Dr. Vilhelm Maar, of the University of Copen-
hagen, whose scholarly edition of Steno's Opera Philosophica has
been of invaluable service. In addition to furnishing photographs
of the portraits of Steno, Dr. Maar has given me, by letter, not only
much information, but also warm encouragement.

The recent publication of a facsimile edition of the Prodromus,
by W. Junk (Berlin, 1904), and of the text, by V. Maar (Copen-
hagen, 1910), has obviated the necessity of presenting the Latin
text in connection with this translation.

I am under much obligation to Mr. William H. Murphy, of
Detroit, whose generosity has made possible this publication in the
Humanistic Series.

JOHN G. WINTER.

Ann Arbor, Michigan,
March 15, 1916.

CONTENTS

PACK

Foreword 169

Introduction :

I. Life of Steno 175

II. The Writings of Steno 188

III. Bibliography of the Prodromus 194

IV. Selected References 202

Translation of the Prodromus with Explanatory Notes . 205

Attestations 271

Explanation of the Figures 272

Index 277

PLATES
V. Portrait of Steno in the Pitti Palace . Frontispiece

PACING PAGB

VI. Portrait of Steno as Vicar of Schwerin 184

VII. Reproduction of Original Title Page 194

VIII. Reproduction of First Page 196

IX. Reproduction of Steno's Figures, 1-13 272

X. Reproduction of Steno's Figures, 14-19 274

XL Reproduction of Steno's Figures, 20-25 276

PAGE

Reproduction of Tailpiece (p. 76 of Original Edition published at Florence

in 1669) ............. 270

▼n

FOREWORD
The Science of the Prodromus of Nicolaus Steno

In reading the Prodromus of Nicolaus Steno one should remember
that the essay was written near the middle of the seventeenth century,
when scientific observation was hardly thought of. All knowledge
concerning the causes of natural phenomena was generally supposed
to have been given by God directly to man, and the message was
strictly guarded by the church. Giordano Bruno, who denied that
there had been a universal deluge, and who had brought forward
evidence that a change had taken place in the distribution of land
and sea, was burned at the stake for heresy. More than a century
later, and a half a century after Steno wrote, de Maillet, in order to
express his conviction that the rocks of the earth were marine deposits,
thought it necessary to disguise his name in the anagram Telliamed
and to allow his views to be published only after his death.

In view of these conditions Steno's Prodromus is remarkable for
its generally untrammelled reasoning, although the concluding pages
of the essay are given over to a somewhat labored effort to prove
that his views are not incompatible with Scripture, and that the
written word has supplemented his observation. It seems doubtful,
however, that he would have escaped persecution had he not been a
devout Catholic and, moreover, under the protection of a powerful
prince, the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. Some indication of the
atmosphere of Florence in Steno's time may be gained from Vin-
centius Viviani's certificate appended to the Prodromus and approving
it for publication, " since I have recognized in it a perfectly sincere
manifestation of the Catholic faith and of good morals, as in the very
candid author, I have thought the same worthy of being entrusted
to type" (p. 271).

Steno is the pioneer of the observational methods which dominate
in modern science, but he was destined to pass away and be almost
forgotten before the methods which he used were to be adopted by
students of science. If we except Leonardo da Vinci, who like Steno
was a Florentine by adoption and who antedated him by a century

169

I70 FOREWORD

and a half, there was no writer upon natural science before the
eighteenth century that in accuracy of observation, in cogency of
reasoning, or in discrimination of judgment might be compared with
the "learned Dane." In some measure Steno reflected, of course,
the crude notions of his time. Thus we find him adopting, though
apparently with some reserve, the doctrine of the four elements, fire,
earth, air, and water. In the main, however, if we exclude the prolix
introduction addressed " to the Most Serene Grand Duke " and the
weak conclusion intended to prove the orthodoxy of his position, the
Prodromus with but moderate changes may be made to harmonize
with the science of the twentieth century. We must attribute it
largely to the closeness of his observation of Nature and to his dis-
criminating judgment, that Steno was not lured into wild speculations,
as were so many in his time. One of his statements might well be
printed in large letters and placed upon the walls of our laboratories
and lecture rooms, as a warning to those who undertake scientific
investigation. " The nurse of doubts," says Steno, " seems to me to
be the fact that in the consideration of questions relating to nature
those points which cannot be definitely determined, are not dis-
tinguished from those which can be settled with certainty" (p. 213).
How much trouble would be saved if to-day scholars had this point
oftener in mind !

The form of Steno's essay is geometrical, and this is responsible
for the almost unintelligible title and the correlation of subjects which,
interpreted in the elaborate differentiation of twentieth century
science, appear somewhat incongruous. As stated in the introduction,
the Prodromus is divided into four parts. The first of these contains
among other things an inquiry into the origin of fossils. The second
part is stated to be : " Given a substance possessed of a certain figure,
and produced according to the laws of nature, to find in the substance
itself evidences disclosing the place and manner of its production."
In like geometrical form the third part discusses solids which are con-
tained within solids. The concluding portion of the essay is largely
a consideration of the prehistoric geological changes which Steno
was able to read in the rocks of Tuscany.

The broad outlines of the Cartesian conception of matter were
adopted by Steno, who regarded a natural body as an aggregate of
imperceptible particles subject to the action of forces such as proceed
from a magnet, from fire, or sometimes from light. A fluid differed

NICOLAUS STENO 171

from a solid in having its particles in constant motion and with-
drawing from their neighbors, that is to say, changing their relative
positions.

Some of Steno's greatest contributions to science lie in the field
of crystallography, for he studied the growth of crystals and showed
that those formed in the mountains must have developed in the
same manner as crystals of niter separating from solutions in water.
These grow, he said, by accretions of substance upon the surface of
the crystal nucleus, and not as do plants and animals.

The prevalent columnar form of crystals and the variation of their
habit through the occurrence of faces of variable size, Steno ex-
plained by the addition of substance on certain sides only of the
growing crystal. The force which draws the substance out of the
surrounding fluid he recognized to be inherent in the crystal itself,
and this crystallizing force he happily likened to what we should
to-day call the lines of force about a magnet.

It is hardly to be expected that, great as Steno was, he should in
his day have discovered the important fact of the orientation of the
molecules of crystals, but he did point to the striking peculiarity of
light refraction that distinguishes the crystal from amorphous sub-
stances, such as glass. Steno was, however, the discoverer of the
fundamental law of crystallography known as the law of constancy
of interfacial angles. As usually stated, this law affirms that no
matter how much the faces of a crystal m.ay vary in their size or
shape, the interfacial angles remain constant, provided they are
measured at the same temperature. The absolutely empirical veri-
fication of this law was delayed until the invention of the reflecting
goniometer in 1805. Barring the refinement of temperature varia-
tions, it was amply verified by Rome de Tlsle with the simple goni-
ometer which he invented in 1783. It is clear, however, that Steno
more than a century earlier fully grasped the principle of the law,
and gave it some sort of crude experimental verification. In the
explanation of his figures, Steno says (p. 272):

" Figures 5 and 6 belong to the class of those crystals which I
could present in countless numbers to prove that in the plane of the
axis both the number and the length of the sides are changed in
various ways without changing the angles."

As a corollary to his deductions concerning the growth of crystals,
Steno showed that so-called " phantom crystals " are no product of

172 FOREWORD

the action of the larger crystal, but existed first and were enveloped
through continued growth of the crystal nucleus.

In the realm of geology we owe to Steno the first clear enuncia-
tion of some of those great principles which to-day we assume to be
axiomatic only because so much has been built upon them as a
foundation. That rocks in the main result from sedimentation in
water is thus expressed in the Prodromus (p. 219):

" The strata of the earth, as regards the manner and place of pro-
duction, agree with those strata which turbid water deposits."

The reasons for this belief are most cogent : " The strata of the
earth are due to the deposits of a fluid, (i) because the comminuted
matter of the strata could not have been reduced to that form
unless, having been mixed with some fluid and then falling from its
own weight, it had been spread out by the movement of the same
superincumbent fluid; (2) because the larger bodies contained in
these same strata obey, for the most part, the laws of gravity, not
only with respect to the position of any substance by itself, but also
with respect to the relative position of different bodies to each
other" (p. 227).

It is further clearly shown how marine deposits may be distin-
guished by their character from those deposits which are laid down
in fresh water upon the continents, as well as from the ejectamenta
of volcanoes. The origin of variation in the character of strata from
place to place, and of the alternation of layers of different characters,
are all discussed with a clear understanding of the actual conditions.
The great principle that the order of superposition of beds deter-
mines the age of formations, is given its first expression (p. 230) :

" At the time when any given stratum was being formed, all the
matter resting upon it was fluid, and, therefore, at the time the
lowest stratum was being formed, none of the upper strata existed."

Likewise it is pointed out that sedimentary formations were either
laid down in definite basins of deposition or were universal in their
extent. The original horizontality of sedimentary formations is now
regarded as one of the great fundamental principles of geology.
Steno says of the strata " that the upper surface was parallel to
the horizon, so far as possible ; and that all strata, therefore, except the
lowest, were bounded by two planes parallel to the horizon. Hence
it follows that strata either perpendicular to the horizon or inclined
toward it, were at another time parallel to the horizon " (p. 230).

NICOLAUS STENO 173

If strata are no longer in a horizontal position, it indicates, says
Steno, subsequent disturbance of them ; and this may be due either
to uplift "by violent thrusting up of the strata," or "spontaneous
slipping or downfall of the upper strata after they have begun to
form cracks, in consequence of the withdrawal of the underlying
substance, or foundation " (p. 231).

These changes in position of the strata are according to Steno
the chief cause of mountains, and he pretty clearly distinguishes
three of the more important mountain types; namely, (i) block or
fault mountains, (2) volcanic mountains, and (3) mountains of ero-
sion. The relation of earthquakes to the formation of mountains is
indicated with a much nearer approach to present beliefs than is to
be found in any save Robert Hooke and comparatively recent
writers.

The fissures which form in the strata were recognized by Steno to
be the passageways or channels for the movement of underground
water, and for subterranean gases as well. These crevices are thus
the places where veins of mineral are formed. The storehouses of
the precious metals being brought about by natural processes, the
foolishness of those who employ the divining rod for the locating of
them is pointed out. An imperfect notion of the manner of replace-
ment of one mineral by another seems to have been gained by Steno >^
from his studies. *

In the description of the figures — a most important part of the
essay — a clear conception is revealed of the relative order of age of
strata, of the alternation of transgression and recession of the sea
over the same places, and of the nature of a structural unconformity,
whereby one set of strata comes to overlie another from which it
differs in its lesser angle of inclination. Here Steno gives us the
results of his careful field observations in the vicinity of Florence.
His figures may, therefore, be regarded as the earliest geological
sections ever prepared.

Over the origin of fossils war had long been waged in Steno's
time. Like Leonardo, a century and a half before, Steno declared
that fossils were petrified remains of plants and animals which had
once existed.

Steno's activity in biological studies is brought out in his elaborate
examination of the structure of the shells of mollusks. His descrip-
tion of the subdivisions of the shells and the division of these into

174 FOREWORD

filaments, and of the various surfaces formed by the aggregation of
these filaments, is suggestive of the methods of modem histological
science. He shows that the substance of the filaments is developed
from a fluid exuded through the outer surface of the animal. The
structure of pearls, and their relation to the growing moUusks, is
discussed at considerable length.

In treating the length of geological time, Steno was clearly ham-
pered by the church doctrine of the time, to which he himself sub-
scribed. Accepting as correct the Usher chronology of the
Scriptures and the Noachian conception of the universal deluge, it is
small wonder that Steno fell into error in evaluating geological time.
" There are those," he said, " to whom the great length of time seems
to destroy the force of the remaining arguments, since the recollec-
tion of no age affirms that floods rose to the place where many
marine objects are found to-day, if you exclude the universal deluge,
four thousand years, more or less, before our time" (p. 258). He
thinks it possible to affirm that the shells dug from the hill on
which Volterra was built, were formed more than three thousand
years ago. The remains of elephants and extinct animals which
were found in the valley of the Amo, and which we now know
crossed from Africa on a land bridge in Tertiary times, Steno was
forced to regard as the mired pack animals which had been brought
by Hannibal's army on its way to besiege Rome.

Now that the Latin text of Steno's work has become available
through republication, it seems opporturie to make his argument
accessible in English, and it is believed that Dr. Winter's rendering
of the learned Dane's Prodromus, with annotations and with a
brief account of his life and writings, will be welcomed by students
of natural science.

Wm. Herbert Hobbs.

Ann Arbor, Michigan,
February, 1916.

INTRODUCTION

I. THE LIFE OF NICOLAUS STENO

NicoLAUs Steno/ the son of a goldsmith, Steen Pedersen, was
born in Copenhagen, January lo, 1638.^

* From early childhood/ he wrote in 1680,* *the association with
those of my own age had little charm for me. For I was constantly
in poor health from my third to my sixth year, and was accordingly
under the continual care of my parents and older friends. As a
result, I grew to prefer the conversation of older people, especially
when they spoke of religion, to the frivolous chatter of younger
companions. In my journeys, also, I kept away, as much as pos-
sible, from idle and dangerous people and sought friendship with
those who had won repute through their upright life or their
learning.'

After acquiring a thorough training in ancient and modern
languages and mathematics in the grammar school of his native
city, Steno entered its University in 1656, where he took up the
study of medicine and had among his instructors the distinguished
scientists Thomas Bartholin, Borrichius (Ole Borch), and Simon

^ Niels Steensen, the Danish form of the name, in accordance with the learned custom of
his day was Latinized by its bearer as Nicolaus Stenonis. The current form, Steno, is due to
the mistaken idea that Stenonis was a genitive case. The spelling in French is St^non and
in Italian Stenone. Cf. Vilhelm Maar, Nicolai Stenonis Opera Philosophica (2 vols., Copen-
hagen, 1910), Vol. I, p. I, note I. According to custom, Steno took his surname from his
fiither^s given name ; see Plenkers, Der Dane Niels Stensen, Ein Lebensbild (Freiburg im Br.,
1884), p. 3, note I .

The sources of Steno's life, consisting chiefly of letters and unpublished manuscripts, are
given by Plenkers, op, cit.y pp. v, vi. To Plenkers, Wichfeld (Erindringer am den danske
Videnskabsmand Niels Stensen in Historisk Tidsskrift, 3 Raekke, 4 Bind, Kj0benhavn, 1865,
pp. 1-109) and Maar (Vol. I, pp. i-xi) I am chiefly indebted for the biographical material
here given.

^ The Encyclopadia Britannica^ in its eleventh edition, presents an inadequate biography
of Steno in seventeen lines, and incorrectly gives 1631 as the date of his birth. The ninth
edition contains no biographical notice. The error appears also in the account by Ch^reau
in the Dictionnaire Encyclopedique des Sciences Midicales (Troisi^me S^rie, Tome Onzi^me,
Paris, 1883, pp. 689-691), in which January i, 1631, is given as the date.

* Defensio et plenior elucidatio epistolae de propria conversione, Hannover, pp. 18, 19;
quoted by Plenkers, Niels Stensen, pp. 3, 4.

175

176 INTRODUCTION

Paulli. In all probability he took no degree/ for the times were
troublous, and Steno, like other students, helped defend Copenhagen
during its siege by Carl Gustav, king of Sweden.

In 1660 Steno went to Amsterdam to continue his studies and
was warmly received by Gerard Blaes, the anatomist, to whom he
had been recommended by Bartholin. His stay of four months in
Amsterdam was made memorable by the discovery on April 7, 1660,
of the parotid duct, which is still known as the ductus Stenonianus?
Blaes, however, claimed the discovery for his own, and a warm con-
troversy ensued, in which Steno defended himself with ability and
dignity. On April 22, 1661, Steno wrote to Thomas Bartholin
from Ley den : ^

* Since you urge me in your letter to publish an account of the
exterior salivary duct, I am constrained to explain to you briefly the
envy which this bit of a discovery {inventiuncula) has won for me,
and also the result of this envy; not with the purpose of seeking
fame in trifles,* but in order to free myself from the hateful charge
of stealing what does not belong to me. For I am sorry that the
necessity has been laid upon me of being forced to say much upon a
subject of no importance, or else to submit to the base brand of
shame. A due consideration of the matter will show that it is not
worth making much ado about. For a similar duct^ had been pre-
viously discovered, and even the very duct in question had been
observed by Casserius^ although he called it a muscle. . . • Since,
however, the charge imputed to me by reason of that duct does not

^ Wichfeld, op* cii.j p. 6, says that Steno went to Amsterdam in 1660 as **Dr. physices."
He is followed by de Angelis in Biographic UniverselU (Michaud ; NomMe Edition, Tome
Quarantilfne, p. 209), by Ch^reau in the Dictionnaire Encyclopidique des Sciences Midicales
(p. 689), and by Hughes in Nature (Vol. 25, 1882, p. 484). Plenkers {ATiels Stensen^ p* ii«
note 5) gives good evidence for believing that no degree had been conferred, and Maar {Opera
Philosophical Vol. I, p. ii) implies as much.

^ It appears that the parotid duct was obser\'ed independently by Needham in 1655, ^^^
his results were not published until 1667 (Maar, op, cit.. Vol. I, p. iii). Steno^s treatise bears
the following title and date : De Glandulis Oris et Novis Inde Prodeuntibus Salivae Vasis,
Lugd. Batav. Anno 1661. It is printed by Maar, op, cit,, Vol. I, pp. 9-51.

• De Prima Ductus Salivalis Exterioris Invent ione et Bilsianis ExperimentiSj Lugd. Batav.
Ao (anno) 1661, 22 ap. (Aprilis). Printed by Maar, op. cit». Vol. I, pp. 1-7.

^ In mustaceo laureolam guaeram means literally * look for a laurel-wreath in a cake.^
Cicero uses the proverb in writing to his friend Atticus, V. 20, 4.

• Ductus IVhartonianus, for which see Adenographia . . . Auctore Thoma IVhartono, Lon-
don, 1656, c. XXI, p. 129; Maar, op, cit.. Vol. I, p. 222.

• De Vocis Auditusque Organis Historia Anatomica, Ferrara, 1600, tab. V, p. 27, d, ac-
cording to Maar, op, cit,^ Vol. I, p. 222.

LIFE OF STENO 177

permit me to keep silent, I shall tell you the entire affair, as pupil to
preceptor, and shall leave the decision to your judgment. . . .

* It is a year now since I was hospitably received by Blaes. After
waiting three weeks for a chance to secure anatomical material, I
asked the distinguished man whether I might be permitted to dis-
sect with my own hand such material as I could buy for myself.
He gave his consent, and fortune so favored me that in the first
sheep's head, which I had bought on April 7 and was dissecting
alone in my room, I found a duct which, so far as I knew, had been
described by no one before. I had removed the skin and was pre-
paring to dissect the brain when I decided to examine first the
ducts. With this end in view I was exploring the courses of the
veins and arteries when I noticed that the point of my knife was no
longer closely confined between tissues but moved freely in a large
cavity, and presently I heard the teeth themselves resound, as I
thrust my knife forward.

' In amazement at the discovery I called in my host (Blaes) that I
might hear his opinion. First he ascribed the sound to the violence
of my thrust, then resorted to calling it a freak of Nature, and finally
referred to Wharton.^ But inasmuch as that did not help, and the
ducts, which had been handled carelessly, allowed no further inves-
tigation, I decided to examine them another time more carefully. I
succeeded, although not so well, a few days later with a dog's head.
Since its affinity to the inferior duct indicated the function of the
one I had found, I told Jacob Henry PauUi, my intimate friend, that
I had discovered a salivary duct, and I added a description of it.
But since I knew that something like it had been discovered before
and could not determine whether this identical duct had been ex-
amined, I remained silent until I could find opportunity to consult
Sylvius about it. After he had heard my account he determined to
seek the duct in man, and having found it he demonstrated it to
spectators on several occasions.' ^

Steno then proceeds to show that Blaes's brother, who was in
Amsterdam at the time and was thoroughly conversant with the
discovery, had accredited it to Steno in letters to Eysson, Professor

' See p. 176, note 5.

* Maar, op. cit,<, Vol. I, pp. 3-5. For a convenient description of the duct and the relation
of Steno^s work to that of Richard Hale see de Angelis, Biof^aphie UniverselU (Michaud),
NauveUe Edition^ Tome Quarantiime, p. 209.

178 INTRODUCTION

at Groningen. And furthermore, while Blaes mentioned the duct in
his Medicina Generalise which appeared in 1661, a year after the dis-
covery, he could account for neither the beginning nor the end of
the duct.^

Meanwhile Steno had gone to Leyden, where he remained from
1660-1664. Here he worked under van Home, the surgeon, and
Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius, the distinguished anatomist who dis-
covered the Sylvian aqueduct. Among his intimate friends were
men of widely differing attainments. The brilliant young Dane
seems, in fact, to have had a genius for friendship. No fellowship
could fail to stimulate reflection which included such men as Jan
Swammerdam, the naturalist, whom Steno had previously known at
Amsterdam; Borrichius, his old teacher, who had come from
Copenhagen ; Matthias Jacobaeus, Professor at Copenhagen, and
later Bishop of Aarhus in Jutland; Peter Schumacher, who later
became Count Griffenfeldt and High Chancellor of Denmark;
Jacob Golias, Professor of Arabic at Leyden, and Baruch Spinoza,
the philosopher, who was then living at Rijnsburg, a suburb of
Leyden. But great as the influence of these men was, it was,
perhaps, less telling for his subsequent spiritual development than
the religious tolerance which Holland alone of European coun-
tries then afiforded.^

While pursuing his anatomical studies in Leyden, Steno learned
of the death of his step-father,^ and thereupon returned to his native
city. Disappointed in his expectation of gaining a professorship,
Steno set out in the same year, 1664, for Paris, where he and
Swammerdam lived with the naturalist Thevenot It was in the
latter's house that Steno delivered his discourse on the anatomy of
the brain.* This treatise shares with the Prodromus the virtues of

* Maar, op. ctt.y Vol. I, p. 223; Plenkers, Niels Stensen^ pp. 12-14, and Wichfdd, Erin-
dringer om Niels Stensen, pp. 7, 8.

* Maar, Opera Philosophical Vol. I, pp. iv-v.

' Steno^s father died in 1644, and his mother, Anna Nilsdatter, had contracted a second
marriage with Johannes Stichman. Her death followed closely upon that of the latter. See
Plenkers, Niels Stensen^ pp. 3, 22, 25.

^ Discours sur Panatomie du cerveait, first printed in Paris in 1669; it is reprinted by
Maar, op, cit.y Vol. II, pp. 3-35.

Jacques B^nigne Winslow, a grand-nephew of Steno, and himself a scientist of note, was
so impressed by the treatise that he printed it in full in his Exposition Anatomique (Paris,
1732), pp. 641-659. The preface of the work closes with this remarkable acknowledgment:

'*Je finis en avertissant avec une sincere reconnoissance, que le seul Discours de feu
M. Stenon sur PAnatomie du Cerveau, a ^t^ la source primitive et le modele general de toute

UFE OF STENO 179

lucidity and scientific objectivity. At a time when fantastic meta-
physics were rife, Steno trusted only to induction based upon experi-
ment and observation. Combating the theories of Descartes and
Willis in particular, the author prefaces his discourse with the
candid admission :

" Au lieu de vous promettre de contenter vostre curiosite,
touchant TAnatomie du Cerveau; ie vous fais icy une confession
sincere et publique, que ie n y connois rien. Ie souhaiterois de tout
mon coeur, d'estre Ie seul qui fust oblige ^ parler de la sorte ; car ie
pourrois profiter auec Ie temps de la connoissance des autres, et ce
seroit un grand bon-heur pour Ie genre humain, si cette partie, qui
est la plus delicate de toutes, et qui est sujette h des maladies tres-
frequentes, et tres-dangereuses, estoit aussi bien connue, que beau-
coup de Philosophes et d'Anatomistes se Timaginent. II y en a peu
qui imitent Tingenuit^ de Monsieur Sylvius, qui n'en parle qu'en
doutant, quoy qu'il y ait travaille plus que personne que ie con-
noisse. Le nombre de ceux ^ qui rien ne donne de la peine, est
infailliblement le plus grand. Ces gens qui ont Taffirmative
si prompte, vous donneront Thistoire du cerveau, et la disposi-
tion de ses parties, avec la mesme asseurance, que s'ils avoient
est6 presens i la composition de cette merveilleuse machine, et
que s'ils avoient penetr^ dans tous les desseins de son grand
Architecte." ^

Paris, however, did not hold Steno long. In the summer of 1665
we find him in Florence,^ where he was soon attached to the court
of the Grand Duke Ferdinand 11. Upon the recommendation of
Th^venot and Viviani, Steno was appointed physician to the Grand
Duke, with a house and pension. He was also given a position
in the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. This patronage, gratefully
acknowledged in the present treatise, and the opportunity for travel

ma conduite dans les travaux Anatomiques. Je Tai insert dans le Traits de la T^te, croyant
£aire plaisir au Public de lui communiquer de nouveau cette Piece, qui ^toit devenue rare, et
qui renienne beaucoup d'excellens avis, tant pour ^viter le faux et Pimaginaire, que pour
d^couvrir le vrai et le rdel, non seulement par rapport k la structure et aux usages des parties,
mais aussi par rapport k la maniere de ^re les Dissections et les Figures Anatomiques.**

The first and only complete edition of D Autobiographie de Jacques Binigne Winshw is
that of Maar, Copenhagen, 191 2. I am indebted to it for the foregoing passage, p. xxiv.

* Maar, Opera Philosophical Vol. II, p. 3.

• I have followed Maar, Opera Philosophical Vol. I, p. vi. Plenkers, Niels Stensen^ p. 30,
and Wichfeld, Erindringer om Niels Stensen^ p. 17, give 1666 as the date of Steno^s arrival in
Florence.

i8o INTRODUCTION

which his position at court afforded him, made possible Steno's
scientific researches.

Now followed the happiest and most productive period of Steno's
life. Ferdinand II, although a weak prince, was a generous patron
of art and science. The Accademia del Cimento, founded in 1657
by Leopold de' Medici, the brother of Ferdinand, was the center
of a learned group including Vincenzo Viviani, the pupil and
biographer of Galileo, Francesco Redi, poet and naturalist, Carlo
Dati, the scientist, and Lorenzo Magalotti, the versatile secretary
of the society. * I have the honor,' Redi wrote to Athanasius
Kircher,* * to serve at a court where distinguished men gather from
all parts of the world. In their wanderings they bring and seek
in exchange the fruits of high endeavor, and so warm is their
welcome that they fancy themselves transported to the mythical
gardens of the Odyssey.'

Through the influence of Maria Flavia del Nero, a nun who had
long been in charge of the apothecary connected with Santa Maria
Nuova, also Lavinia Felice Cenanni Arnolfini, the wife of the
ambassador from Lucca, and Emilio Savignani, a Jesuit priest,
Steno was induced to embrace Catholicism. He was deeply reli-
gious by nature, and there can be no question about the sincerity
of his conversion. His seriousness as a lad, and the impression
made upon him by the religious tolerance in Holland, have been
mentioned. Furthermore, since meeting the eloquent Bossuet in
Paris he had been pondering deeply the question of Catholicism
versus Protestantism.* He was finally received into the Church,
December 8, 1667. Five days later Viviani wrote to Magalotti, who
was then in Flanders :

'My very dear friend, N. Steno, who lacked only this to make
him adorable, so to say, has turned back to life on the day of the
dead,^ in that he has confessed the Catholic faith. His decision to
take the final step gave great joy to His Highness (Ferdinand II)
and all his friends. On the day of the Immaculate Conception,

* Quoted by Plenkers, NieU Stensen, p. 31.

* The question of Steno^s conversion is treated at length by Plenkers {Niels Stensen,
pp. 36-50), who includes in his account many of the letters that passed between Steno and
his friends. The reasons which induced Steno to take this step were set forth by him in
Epistola de propria conversione (Florence, 1677) and Defensio et pUniar elucidatio epistoku
de propria conversione (Hannover, 1680).

* All Souls^ Day, November 2, is Giorno de^Morti in Italian.

LIFE OF STENO i8i

after he had finally declared his conversion before the Nuntius also,
he received a letter from his King, which he called an invitation,
with the command to return as soon as possible. An annual pen-
sion of four hundred scudi was promised him from the day of his
departure. There are no further stipulations, and he can expect an
increase of this amount. Still, he is unwilling to begin the journey
until he has learned whether His Majesty will support him in this
way in spite of his change of belief. Inasmuch as we cannot hope
that this will be the case, we have the prospect of keeping him
with us.' ^

According to Blondel ^ Steno wrote to Frederik III informing him
of his change of belief. While these negotiations were in progress
Steno composed his Prodromus^ (1668). The original plan of writ-
ing the treatise in Italian was given up in favor of Latin, and when
the remarkable essay appeared it was under the title Nicolai Stenonis
De Solido Intra Soltdum Naturaliter Contento Dissertationis Pro-
dromus. It was printed at Florence, in 1669, with the full sanction
of the papal authorities, among whom were his influential friends,
Redi and Viviani.

The Prodromus was intended as a preliminary statement of prin-
ciples which the author expected to elaborate more fully in a later,
comprehensive work, which is referred to throughout as the Disserta-
tion. The larger work, however, never appeared, probably because

* Quoted by Plenkers, Mels Stenseny p. 51. This order of Frederik III, dated 19 October,
1667, is still preserved in Copenhagen. Compare op, cH., note i.

^Les Viss des saints pour chaquejour de tannie, Paris, 1722, p. 738.

*The use of the word Prodromus to designate a treatise preliminary to a larger work is not
found in classical Latin. The N'ew Oxford Dictionary amply illustrates its occurrence in
English, but the examples are from works subsequent to Steno^s time. Francis Bacon (1561-
1626) employs the word in the Instauratio Magna, Prodromi sive Anticipationes Philosophiae
Secundae (edition of Spedding, Ellis, and Heath, Vol. V, p. 182). Larousse, s.v. Prodrome^
not only gives the best definition of the word as used by Steno, but also cites an excellent
example of a writer whose accomplishment, like Steno's, fell short of his original expectation :

" Cc mot a ^t^ employ^ pour designer une preface, une introduction, un discourse pr^limi-
naire ; mais, dans sa signification la plus gdn^ralement acceptde, il est le titre m^me d'un
ouvrage destine a preparer d^autres Merits dont il donne Tid^e et auxquels il prdpare le lecture.
II a ^t^ &it des livres de ce genre sur les mati^res thdologiques et philosophiques. II en
existe aussi qui sont relatife aux sciences exactes et naturelles. L'un des plus remarquables
est celui que Candolle a public sous ce titre : Prodrome du syst^me du regne v^g^tal (Paris,
1824 et suiv. in 8^). Ce c^l^bre botaniste avait d'abord con^u le plan d'un ouvrage extreme-
ment vaste, quil intitula: Syst^me naturel du r^gne v^g^tal, et dont il fit paraltre deux volumes
(1818-1821, in 8^) ; mais, comprenant que la vie d^un homme ne se suffirait pas k remplir ce
plan, il y renon9a et fit son Prodrome, recueil d^jk fort vaste, pr^sentant le repertoire des
ordres, des genres, des esp^ces du r^gne v^g^tal, et qu'il ne put terminer.''^

^

i82 INTRODUCTION

Steno's interest in geology had meanwhile given way to his interest
in theology.^ Brief as it is, the Prodromus remains one of the most
noteworthy contributions to the science of geology, and especially
the geology of Italy. Steno's habits of observation, analysis, and in-
duction resulted in an enlightened exposition of geology considered
from the petrological, palaeontological, and stratigraphical point of
view, at a time when many of his contemporaries were still satisfied
with some of the absurdities of metaphysical speculation.^ Steno's
work, von Zittel remarks,^ " already contained the kernel of much
that has been under constant discussion during the two centuries
which have passed since his death ; and if one reads the most recent
text-books of geology, it will be evident that science has not yet se-
curely ascertained the share that is to be assigned to subsidence, to
upheaval, to erosion, and to volcanic action in the history of the
earth's surface conformation in different regions."

The journey to Denmark was not undertaken until a year after
Steno's conversion, and then by a circuitous route. After visiting
Rome, Naples, and Murano, he reached Innsbruck in May, 1669,
Vienna and Prague in the late summer of the same year, and finally
Amsterdam in the spring of 1670. Meanwhile Frederik III had
died February 2, 1670, and Steno remained in Holland. Upon
learning of the serious illness of his patron Ferdinand II he departed
at once for Florence. When he arrived (1670), Cosimo III had al-
ready succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Tuscany. But the
change in rulers brought no change in the warmth of Steno's wel-
come. Under Cosimo he arranged the minerals in the Pitti Palace,
and continued his studies in geology.

In the Pitti Palace is a series of portraits of distinguished men
who were associated with the Court of Ferdinand II and Cosimo III.

^The Prodromus was Steno's last scientific work of note. After his conversion (cf. p. 180)
his interest in science rapidly waned. Leibnitz, who came to know and esteem Steno later in
Hannover, in letters to Conring expresses deep regret that Steno had abandoned his earlier
studies. Sec Gerhardt, Die philosophischen Schriften von G. W. Leibniz (Vol. I, Berlin, 1875),
p. 185, and especially p. 193 : ^Stenonium Episcopum doleo nunc a physiologicis studiis averti
ad theologica vel ideo quia in hisfacilius quam in illis habebit parent,'*''

^ A striking instance of this is Kircher's Mundus Subterraneus, Amsterdam, 1665. Com-
pare Maar, Om Paste Legemer^ Copenhagen, 1902, p. ii ff.

^History of Geology and PaUeontoiogy, Eng. trans. (London, 1901), p. 27. Compare
Huxley, Nature^ Vol. 24 (i88i),p. 453 ; A. von Humboldt, Essai Giognostique sur le Gisement
des Roches dans Us detix Hemispheres (Paris, 1823), p. 38 ; Cosmos^ Eng. trans. (London,
1852), Vol. 2, pp. 347-348; M. J. P. Flourens, De la LonghnU humaine et de la Quantiti
de Viesur U Globe (Paris, 1855), pp. 211-215.

LIFE OF STENO 183

Among these is a portrait of Steno, by an unknown painter, evidently
made in the period when the Prodromus was composed; this is
reproduced in our Plate V.

On the recommendation of Count Griffenfeldt,^ Christian V invited
Steno to the Professorship of Anatomy in Copenhagen. The royal
order, dated February 13, 1672, is still preserved in Copenhagen,
and reads:

* Know that by special royal grace and favor We have allowed
you, until further gracious increase, four hundred reichsthaler a year.
This pension shall date from the time of your arrival here. For it
is our gracious command and will that you undertake at once your
journey to our Kingdom of Denmark, in order to be here as soon as
possible. You will comply in humble obedience.' ^

Steno's reply to Count Griflfenfeldt is dated April 26 :

* I thank your Excellency most humbly for your good will to me
and wish with all my heart that God may grant me to prove to you,
one day, my gratitude and willing service. I suppose that your
Excellency already knows the reason why my answer is so late in
arriving. For the letters containing the orders of His Royal Majesty
did not reach Holland until April 3. From there they were for-
warded to me yesterday, the twenty-fifth of April. I humbly ask
you therefore to excuse my delay to our most gracious Lord and
King. This morning I went to the Grand Duke to tell him of the
command of His Royal Majesty, and I hope to receive leave for my
final departure within a few days.' ^

Steno arrived in Copenhagen July 3, 1672. His notable address
on the reopening of the Theatrum Anatomicum ^ was as much a
valedictory as an inaugural, for it marks the close of his scientific
career. He soon became involved in religious controversies which
made his tenure so disagreeable that he yearned for the old life at
Florence. Accordingly, he resigned his position in the summer of
1674, and set out for Florence, visiting the Catholic Duke of
Hannover, Johann Friedrich, on the way. Thence he came back to
Amsterdam before proceeding to Italy. Upon his arrival in Florence,
late in the year 1674, he was appointed tutor to the son of Cosimo HI,
and thenceforth gave up natural science, for which his keen powers

* See p. 178. ^ Quoted by Plenkers, Niels Stensen, p. 91 .
■Plenkers, op. cit.y p. 91.

* Printed by Maar, Opera Philosophical Vol. II, pp. 249-256.

284 INTRODUCTION

of observation and analysis so admirably fitted him, in order to devote
himself to questions of education and theology.

In 1675 Steno took Holy Orders; in the following year (Septem-
ber 14, 1676), Pope Innocent XI rewarded his zeal in attempting to
convert his former friends^ and co-religionists by appointing him
Bishop of Titopolis,^ in partibus infidelium^ and Apostolic Vicar of
Northern Germany and Scandinavia. In consequence, toward the
end of 1677, he took up his residence in Hannover. An account
preserved by Manni^ gives a graphic picture of the austere life
Steno's devotion now induced him to lead :

'The prelate lived and dressed as though he were the poorest
person in the world. His position could only be inferred from his
ecclesiastical garb, and even this was only serge. For he would not
take the robes of his predecessor although they were offered to him
at a low price. And notwithstanding the Duke made him an ample
allowance to enable him to live as became his rank, he gave everything
to the poor. For them he sacrificed everything. And he did this
as long as we knew him. He even gave the gold necklace with a
medallion containing a portrait of the Duke — he had received it on
his second return from Denmark to Rome by way of Hannover * —
to a friend with the injunction that it be bestowed upon the poor.
When he had nothing else he sold his silver crucifix and costly
bishop's ring to relieve the distress of others.'

Upon the death of Johann Friedrich, in 1679, and the accession
of his Protestant brother, Duke Ernst August, Steno was forced to
withdraw to Munster. Here he was appointed Suffragan Bishop to
Ferdinand, Baron von Fiirstenberg, the Bishop of Munster (1680).
The latter died in 1683, and was succeeded by Archbishop Maxi-
milian Heinrich. Steno had opposed his election and refused to
celebrate mass in honor of the event. He therefore withdrew to
Hamburg, where his self-imposed poverty and his asceticism alienated
the Catholics themselves. They threatened to cut off his nose
and ears, to drive him from the city, and even to kill him. In his

^Plenkers, Niels Stensen (pp. 122, 123), quotes, among other letters, an interesting appeal
to Spinoza. The latter did not reply.
^An old bishopric in Isauria.

• Vita del letteratissimo Mons, N. Stenone (Florence, 1775), p. 229; quoted by Plenkers,
Niels Stensen^ p. 131.

* This statement is inexact ; Steno did not go to Denmark in 1670, and in 1674 his objective
was Florence, not Rome.

Portrait ov Steno as Viiar of Schwerin.

LIFE OF STENO 185

trouble he began to long for the peace and friendships of Italy,^ and
was preparing to return when the missionary post at Schwerin was
ofifered to him. He accepted it in 1685 as a call to further service.
But the change meant only increased fasting and abject poverty,
to which he succumbed November 26, 1686. At the request of
Cosimo III Steno's body was taken to Florence and laid in the famous
San Lorenzo.

The physical change which Steno's self-denial entailed is strikingly
shown in his portrait as Vicar of Schwerin. The original, by an un-
known artist, is still in Schwerin. Until recently it was his only
known portrait. An excellent copy, reproduced in our Plate VI,
is in possession of the Anatomical Institute of the University of
Copenhagen.

On the walls of the cloister of San Lorenzo there is to-day a
medallion portrait of Steno, surrounded by a marble wreath, with
the following inscription, in black letters, beneath it ;

NICOLAI • STENONIS • IMAGINEM • VIDES • HOSPES
QVAM • AERE • COLLATO • DOCTI • AMPLIVS • MILLE
EX • UNIVERSO • TERRARUM • ORBE • INSCULPENDAM
CURARUNT • IN • MEMORIAM • EJUS • DIEI • IV • GAL • OC-
TOBR • AN • M • D • CCC • LXXXI • QUO • GEOLOGI • POST • CON
VENTUM • BONONIAE • HABITUM • PRAESIDE • JOANNE
CAPELLINIO • EQUITE • HUG • PEREGRINATI • SUNT • AT-
QUE • ADSTANTIBUS • LEGATIS • FLOR • MUNIGIPII • ET
R • INSTITUTI • ALTIORUM • DOGTRINARUM • GINERES
VIRI • INTER • GEOLOGOS • ET • ANATOMICOS • PRAE-
STANTISSIMI • IN • HUJUS • TEMPLI • HYPOGEO • LAUREA
CORONA • HONORIS • GRATIQUE • ANIMI • ERGO • HONE-
STAVERUNT

The medallion portrait is by Vincenzo Consani. Plenkers (Niels
StenseHy p. 88) quotes the inscription, but does not divide it properly
into lines. My own transcript was made in Florence June 20, 1911.
The Latinity of the inscription is open to criticism; altiorum in
line 9 should be altiarum, and the hyphens at the ends of lines 4,
7, 10, 12 are not in accordance with ancient usage. I add a trans-
lation :

^Indicated in the letters to Madame Arnolfini (Plenkers, ATiels Stensen, p. 178).

i86 INTRODUCTION

* Friend, you behold the likeness of Nicolaus Steno. To it more
than a thousand men of learning, from all parts of the world, con-
tributed. They made provision for the carving of it in memory of
this day, the twenty-eighth of September, in the year 1881, when
the Geologists, after the Congress at Bologna, under the Presidency
of Cavaliere Giovanni Capellini, journeyed hither, and in the pres-
ence of delegates representing the City of Florence and the Royal
Institute of Higher Studies, in the cloister of this church, as a tes-
timonial of respect and gratitude honored with a laurel crown a
man of surpassing distinction among Geologists and Anatomists.'

The official account of the events recorded in the inscription is
in itself a commentary of sufficient interest to warrant reprinting
here, particularly because of its estimate of the value of Steno's
contribution to geology : ^

lis allerent en suite rendre hommage aux restes de Stenon qui
reposent dans une tombe de plus modestes, dans la crypte souter-
raine de la chapelle des M6dicis, h San Lorenzo. Les chanoines de
la Basilique se tenaient, pour les recevoir, au pied de Tescalier qui
descend dans la cr)rpte.

L^ M. le president Capellini invita ^ prendre la parole Teminent
repr^sentant des etudes d'archeologie prehistorique, M. Waldmar
Schmidt, de Copenhague. Notre savant confrere s'exprima en ces
termes :

" Messieurs, Au moment oh les membres du second Congres g6o-
logique international sont reunis dans la c61ebre eglise de San
Lorenzo, devant la tombe de Nicolas Stenon, vous permettrez, je
Tespere, au seul repr&entant du pays ou est ne Stenon, d'exprimer
au noms de ses compatriotes les plus chaleureux remerciments ^ la
ville de Florence pour I'hommage qu'elle a rendu ^ leur concitoyen.

" Comme vous le savez, h une epoque oh les sciences naturelles
n'^taient pas encore sorties de leur premiere enfance, Nicolas
Stenon a jete les fondements de la g^ologie ; et par ses etudes, par
ses observations, par son g^nie perspicace, il est arrive h enoncer,
sur divers points de la science, des vues dont les g^ologues de notre
siecle, apr^s tant de nouvelles recherches, ont reconnu Texactitude.

" Stenon ^tait ne en Danemark et c'est 1^ qu'il fit ses premieres

^ Congris Giologique International . . . Compte Rendu de la inu Session, Bologne^ 1881,
pp. 249-251. See also the brief account in Bolletino del R, Comitate Geologico d^ Italia^ vol.
12 (1881), pp. 379, 380.

LIFE OF STENO 187

etudes. Mais cest en Italie qu'il a accompli ses merveilleuses
decouvertes et pos^ les bases de la geologie. II y fut re9u avec
cette splendide hospitalite qui nous a nous memes accueillis partout
d'abord ^ Bologne, aujourd'hui ^ Florence.

" L' Italie fut sa seconde patrie, et ses restes mortels reposent dans
ce temple magnifique, dans lequel on admire les oeuvres des plus
grands artistes du monde.

" Quand Stenon abandonna le Danemark pour venir se fixer dans
ce beau pays, la science geologique ne deserta pas avec lui la patrie
scandinave.

" Ne dois-je pas, Messieurs, vous rappeler k cette occasion que si
le Danemark a eu Stenon, un autre pays scandinave, la Suede, a eu
Linne. Comme Tun avait etabli les fondaments de la stratigraphie,
Tautre posa les bases de la geologie physique. . . . Vous me per-
mettrez done. Messieurs, de joindre k mes remerciments pour la
ville de Florence et son syndic qui nous ont fait un si magnifique
accueil, Texpression de ma reconnaissance pour celui qui par un
beau travail a fait connaitre, je ne dirai pas le nom de Stenon
qui ^tait dej^ assez connu, mais sa vie, son origine et son pays
natal: toute ma gratitude h M. Capellini, auteur de la Vie de
Stenon et president du deuxieme Congres international de geologie
k Bologne."

II (Capellini) ajoute que son but etait de faire mieux connaitre
ce grand homme dont le souvenir doit etre sacr6 pour tous les geo-
logues, et sur la tombe duquel il est heureux de tendre la main Jt
M. W. Schmidt, afin de reserrer entre Tltalie et le Danemark les
liens d afifection que rappelle cette illustree memoire. . . .

Le soir, le cercle philologique, le cercle des ingenieurs et le club
alpin ouvrirent gracieusement leur salles aux congressistes. Mais
avant de se rendre h ces amiables invitations, ils furent convies ^ un
diner h Thotel Minerva par le president Capellini, et, apres, une
souscription fut ouverte par ses soins pour placer sur le tombe de
Stenon une pierre dont Tinscription rappellerait h la fois les glorieux
titres scientifiques du c^lebre Danois, et la visite faite ^ sa tombe
par les membres du Congres geologique international. . . .

n. THE WRITINGS OF STENO

Steno's published works may be grouped under three heads:
Anatomy, Geology, and Theology. The scientific treatises have all
been reprinted by Maar, Opera Philosophica (2 vols., Copenhagen,
1910) ; no complete edition of his many interesting letters, and of
his theological writings, has yet appeared. The following list,
compiled from Maar and Plenkers, gives the full title of each
published work, its date, and place of original publication. In the
case of the scientific treatises references are given also to Maar's
edition.

I. ANATOMY

1. a. Disputatio Anatomica de Glandulis Oris et Nuper Obser-
vatis inde Prodeuntibus Vasis Prima. Leyden, 1661 (July 6).

b. Disputatio . . . Secunda, Leyden, 1661 (July 9).

These two articles appeared together in :

De Glandulis Oris et Novis earundem Vasis Observationes Ana-
totnicae. Leyden, 1661. Printed by Maar, Vol. I, pp. 9-51 (Number

II).

2. Observationes Anatomicae, Quibus Varia Oris, Oculorum, et
Narium Vasa Describuntur, Novique Salivae, Lacrymarum et Muci
Pontes Deteguntur, et Novum Nobilissimi Bilsii de Lympha£ Motu
et Usu Commentum Examinatur et Rejicitur, Leyden, 1662.

This volume includes four treatises :

a. De Glandulis Oris, etc., pp. 1-54; a reprint of the two Dis-
putationes. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 9-51 (No. II).

b. Responsio ad Vindicias Hepatis Redivivi, Qua Tela, Quae in
Praesidem Celeberr. Dn. Johannem van Home direxerat Clar.
Antonius Deusingius, a Thesium Authore Excipiuntur, et Evanida
Ostenduntur. Pp. 55-78.

This treatise bears the date 28 November, 1661. Maar, Vol. I,

pp. 59-73 (No. IV).

188

THE WRITINGS OF STENO 189

c. De Glandulis Oculorum Novisque earundem Vasts Observa-
tiones Anatomicae, Quibus Vert Lacrymarum Pontes Deteguntur.
Pp. 79-100. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 75-90 (No. V).

d. Appendix de Narium Vasts. Pp. 101-108. Maar, Vol. I,
pp. 91-97 (No. VI).

3. Apologiae ProdromuSy Quo Demonstratur^ Judicem Blasianum
et Ret Anatomicae Imperitum Esse, et Affectuum Suorum Servum,
Leyden, 1663. Maar, Vol. I; pp. 143-154 (No. XIII).

4. De Musculis et Glandulis Observationum Specimen Cum
Epistolis Duabus Anatomicis. Copenhagen, 1664. The De Mus-
culisy etc., is printed by Maar, Vol. I, pp. 1 61-192 (No. XV).

The first of the two letters was written to Willem Piso, and is en-
titled De Anatome Rajae Epistola. Dated April 24, 1664, Copen-
hagen. Pp. 48-70. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 193-207 (No. XVI). The
second was written to Paul Barbette, and is entitled De Vitelli in
Intestina Pulli Transitu Epistola, Dated June 12, 1664, Copen-
hagen. Pp. 71-84. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 209-218 (No. XVII).

5. De Prima Ductus Salivalis Exterioris Inventiane, et Bilsianis
Experimentis. A letter to Thomas Bartholin, dated April 22, 1661,
Leyden. First printed in Bartholin's Epistolae Medicinae, Cent.
Ill, 1667, No. XXIV. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 1-7 (No. I).

6. Variae in Oculis et Naso Observationes Novae. A letter to
Bartholin, dated September 12, 1661, Leyden. First printed in
Epist, Med., Cent. Ill, 1667, No. LVII. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 53-58
(No. III).

7. Sudorum Origo ex Glandulis. De Insertions et Valvula
Lcutei Thoracici et Lymphaticorum. A letter to Bartholin, dated
January 9, 1662, Leyden. First printed in Epist. Med., Cent. Ill,
1667, No. LXV. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 99-103 (No. VII).

8. Cur Nicotinae Pulvis Oculos Clariores Reddat. De La^tea
Gelatina Observatio. A letter to Bartholin, dated May 21, 1662,
Leyden. First printed in Epist. Med., Cent. IV, 1667, No. I.
Maar, Vol. I, pp. 105-111 (No. VIII).

9. Observationes Anatomicae in Avibus et Cuniculis. A letter to
Bartholin, dated August 26, 1662, Leyden. First printed in Epist.

I90 INTRODUCTION

Med., Cent IV, 1667, No. XXVI. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 1 13-120

(No. IX).

10. De Vesiculis in Pulmone, Anatome Cuniculi Praegnantis,
In Pulmonibus Expetitnenta. De Lacteis Mammarum. In Cygno
Observation's. A letter to Bartholin, dated March 5, 1663, Leyden.
First printed in Epist. Med., Cent. IV, 1667, No. LV. Maar, Vol.

I, pp. 129-136 (No. XI).

11. Nova Musculorum et Cordis Fabrica. A letter to Bartholin,
dated April, 1663, Leyden. First printed in Epist. Med., Cent. IV,
1667, No. LXX. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 155-160 (No. XIV).

12. Elementorunt Myologiae Specimen, sen Musculi Descriptio
Geometrica. Cui Accedunt Canis Carchariae Dissectum Caputs et
Dissectus Piscis ex Canum Genere. Florence, 1667.

The Elementorum Myologiae Specimen is printed by Maar, Vol.

II, pp. 61-111 (No. XXII). The second treatise, entitled Canis
Carchariae, etc., is printed by Maar, Vol. II, pp. 11 3-145 (No.
XXIII). The third, Dissectus Piscis, etc., is printed by Maar, Vol.
II,pp. 147-155 (No. XXIV).

13. Discours sur V Anatomic du Cerveau. Paris, 1669. Maar,
Vol. II, pp. 1-35 (No. XVIII).

14. Figurae Explicatio. Receptaculi Sanguinis Circulus per
Ventriculorum Cordis Separationem ab Invicem Manifestior Red-
ditus.

First printed in Bartholin's Anatome, Quartum Renovata, Leyden,
1673, pp. 805-807. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 279-282 (No. XXXIII).

15. Embryo Mofistro Ajffinis Parisiis Dissectus. First printed
in Acta Hafniensia, Vol. I, 1673, pp. 200-203. Maar, Vol. II,
PP- 49-53 (No. XX).

16. Uterus Leporis Proprium Foetum Resolventis. In Acta
Hafn,, Vol. I, 1673, pp. 203-207. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 55-60
(No. XXI).

17. De Vitulo Hydrocephalo. In Acta Hafn., Vol. I, 1673,
pp. 249-262. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 229-239 (No. XXVIII).

THE WRITINGS OF STENO 191

18. In Ovo et Pullo Observationes. In Acta Hafn.^ Vol. II, 1675,
pp. 81-92. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 37-47 (No. XIX).

19. Ex Variorum Animalium Sectionibus hinc inde factis Ex-
cerpta^ Observationes circa Motum Cordis^ Auricularumque et Venae
Cavae. In Acta Ha/n.y Vol. II, 1675, pp. 141-147. Maar, Vol. I,
pp. 1 21-127 (No. X).

20. Observationes Anatomicae Spectantes Ova Viviparorum. In
Acta Ha/n., Vol. II, 1675, pp. 210-218. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 157-166
(No. XXV).

21. Ova Viviparorum Spectantes Observationes feu: tae Jussu Sere-
nissimi Magni Ducis Hetruriae. In Acta Ha/n., Vol. II, 1675,
pp. 219-232. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 167-179 (No. XXVI).

22. Lymphaticorum Varietas. In Acta Ha/n,, Vol. II, 1675, pp.
240-241. Maar, Vol. I, pp. 137-142 (No. XII).

23. Historia Musculorum Aquilae. In Acta Hafn.y Vol. II,
1675, pp. 320-345. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 257-277 (No. XXXII).

24. Prooemium Demonstrationum Anatomicarum in Theatro
Hafniensi Anni 1673. In Acta Hafn.^ Vol. II, 1675, pp. 359-366.
Maar, Vol. II, pp. 249-256 (No. XXXI).

In addition to the foregoing treatises, Maar prints extracts from
various sources, op. cit.. Vol. II, pp. 283-310 (Appendix, Nos.
XXXIV. XXXV, XXXVI).

II. GEOLOGY

1. De Solido intra Solidum Naturaliter Contento Dissertationis
Prodromus. Florence, 1669. Maar, Vol. II, pp. 181-227 (No.
XXVII).

2. Letter to Cosimo III, in Italian, On the Grotto above Gresta.
First printed by Fabroni, Lettere Inedite di Uomini Illustri (Flor-
ence, 1773-1775), Vol. II, no. 141, pp. 318-321. Maar, Vol. II, pp.
239-242 (No. XXIX).

3. Letter to Cosimo III, in Italian, On the Grotto of Moncodine.
Dated August 19, 1671. First printed by Fabroni, op. cit., no. 142,
PP- 321-327. Maar, Vol. II, 243-248 (No. XXX).

192 INTRODUCTION

III. THEOLOGY

1. Ad Virum Eruditum cum Quo in Unitate S. R. E. desiderat
Aeternam Amicitiam inire^ Epistola detegens Illorum Artes Qui
Suum de Interprete S. Scripturae Errorem S^ Patrum Testimonio
confirmare nituntur. Florence, 1675.

2. Epistola exponens Methodum Convincendi Acatkolicunt juxta
D. Chrysostomum ex ejusdem Homilia XXXIII in Act. Aposto-
lorum. Florence, 1675.

3. Epistola ad Novae Philosophiae Reformatorem de Vera Phi-
losophia. Florence, 1675.

4. Epistola de Propria Conversione, Florence, 1677.

5. Scrutinium Reformatorum ad Demonstrandum Re/ormatores
Morum fuisse a Deo, Re/ormatores autem Fidei et Doctrinae nan
fuisse. Florence, 1677.

6. Epistola de Philosophia Cartesiana. Florence, 1677.

7. Scrutinium Reformatorum d. i. Kurtzer Beweis dass Dieje-
nigen Lehrer, so die Sitten der Menscken zu Verbessem Getrcuhtet^
von Gott Gewesen, mil Nick ten aber die Andern, so die Glaubens-
lehre zu Verbessem Gesucket. Hannover, 1678.

8. Occasio Sermonum de Religione cum, Jo. Sylvio. Hannover,
1678.

9. Examen Objectionis circa Diversas Scripturas Sacras et
Earum Interpretation's Tamquam Divinas a Diversis Ecclesiis
Propositas, D. Jo. Sylvio per Litteras a, i6yo Transmissum^ modo
Distinctius et Auctius in Lucem Editum^ Ubi Omnes^ Qui Re/or-
matos Se Credunty Nobis Nulla Unquam Fidei Reformatione Indigis
Objiciunt, Se Solos Certos esse, Quod Deo Credant, Nostram autem
Fidem Non Divina, Sed Humana Auctoritate niti. Hannover
1678.

10. Tractatio cU Purgatorio Cum Discursu utrum Pontijicii an
Protestantes in Religionis Negotio Conscientiae Suae Rectius Con-
sulant. Hannover, 1678.

THE WRITINGS OF STENO 193

11. Katholische Glaubenslehre vont Fegfeur^ mil Klaren Zeug-
niissen aus dent H, Angus lino Bewehret ; nebenst Entdeckung Vier
Grober Irrthumer des Dorschdi^ indent Er Vorgibt dass Bellarmi'
nus das Fegfeur aus den H, H. V'dttem Nicht Habe Erweisen
Konnen, etc. Hannover, 1678.

12. Defensio it Plenior Elucidatio Scrutinii Refomtatorum,
Hannover, 1679.

1 3. Defensio et Plenior Elucidatio Epistolae de Propria Conver-
sione. Hannover, i68o.

14. Parochorum Hoc Age^ seu Evidens Demonstratio Quod
Parochus Tenetur Omnes Alias Occupationes dimittere et Suae
attendere Perfectioni ut Commissas Sibi Oves ad Statum Salutis
Aetemae Ipsis a Christo Praeparatum Perducat. Florence, 1683.

III. BIBLIOGRAPHY OP THE PRODROMUS

I. THE ORIGINAL EDITION

Nicolai Stenonis De Solido Intra Solidum Naturaliter Contento
— Dissertationis Prodromus. Ad Serentssimum Ferdinandum II
Magnum Etrurian Ducem. Florentiae, Ex Typographia sub
sigfio Stellae MDCLXIX. Superiorum Pennissu}

The volume is a small quarto, the t)rpe page measuring seven and
one sixteenth by four and three sixteenths inches, with wide mar-
gins. Including the margins, the page measures nine and one half
by six and five sixteenths inches. Maar observes {Opera Phtlo-
sopkica, Vol. II, p. 355) that copies are extant without the wide
margins, although he does not state where either these or the former
may be found. The title-page is in two colors, as may be seen from
our reproduction of it (Plate VII). We present also a reproduction
of the first page of the treatise, with its tastefully designed headpiece
and initial letter (Plate VIII). The volume is a creditable example
of seventeenth century Italian printing.

The text fills 76 pages, and ends with a quaint tailpiece, which
we have reproduced at the end of the translation (p. 270). The
authorizations of publication fill the greater part of the next two
pages. The figures follow, brought together in a single large fold-
ing plate. In this volume for the convenience of readers we have
distributed the figures among three full-page plates (numbered IX,

^ Translation : The Prodromus of Nicolaus Steno^s

Dissertation

Concerning a solid naturally contained

Within a solid

To
The Most Serene
Ferdinand II
Grand Duke of Tuscany

Florence

From the press under the sign of the star, MDCLXIX
By order of the superiors.

194

[Plate VII.]

NICOLAI STENONIS

D E S O L I D O

INTRA SOUDVM NATVRAUTER CONTENTO
PISSBRTATIONIS PRODROMVS.

A D
S E XBN J S S I MV^M

FERDINANDVM E

MAGNVM ETRVKLE DVCEM.

FLORE NTIiE

Ex Typographia fub figno STELLiE MDCLXIX.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRODROMUS 19S

X, XI), reproducing them, however, in the original size,^ and pre-
serving the numerical order. The 'explanation of the figures' in
the original edition is printed on an accompanying double-page fold-
ing inset. Page 79, not numbered, contains a list of corrections,
which is far from complete.

There are two copies of the original edition in the British
Museum. The copy which I examined (press mark 537. b. i) has a
plate preceding the text and a duplicate of it following the explicatio
figurarum. A number of marginal corrections of the text have
been made by some scholarly reader, for they are essential in every
case. There is also a copy in the Library of the Royal Society,
London ; it is bound up with various tracts, and contains marginal
corrections, but by a less careful hand. In this copy the plate and
* explanation of figures ' are inserted in the front of the treatise.

The only copy which I have found in the United States is in the
New York Public Library, and carries the stamp of the Astor
Library on its title-page. It is in perfect condition and without
marginal corrections.

II. REPRINTS OF THE ORIGINAL EDITION

1. Nicolai S tenants De Solido Intra Solidum Naturaliter Con-
tento — Dissertationis Prodromus. Ad Serenissimum Ferdinan-
dum II Magnum Etruriae Ducem. Lugd. Batav. Apud Jacobum
Moukee, 1679.

The copy of the Leyden reprint in the British Museum is a
neatly printed duodecimo of 115 pages, followed by the explicatio
figurarum and plate. The lower half of the plate has been torn
oflf, and the upper part is bound upside down. Several other
treatises are bound up with the Prodromus.

2. Viri Cekberrimi Nicolai Stenonis Dani De Solido Intra
Solidum Naturaliter Contento — Dissertationis Prodromus. Ad
Serenissimum Ferdinandum II Magnum. Etruriae Ducem Editio
Secunda Etrusca. Pistorii A. S. MDCCLXIII. Ex Typographio
Publici. Praesidibus Permittentibus. Prostant etiam Florentiae
apud Vicentium Landi Bibliopilam prope Monasterium Monacho-
rum Cassinensium.

According to Maar,^ the Bibliotheca Nazionale Braidense, Milan,

* Figure 17 alone is slightly reduced. * Opera Philosophical Vol. II, p. 355.

196 INTRODUCTION

and the British Museum possess copies of this Pistoia reprint of
1763. The British Museum copy, the only one I have seen, is a
quarto volume of 73 pages followed by a reduced reproduction of
the plate. It is more compactly printed than the original edition,
and page 68 has a brief index of contents. The original attesta-
tions on page 71 are followed by the re-imprimatur as follows:
Dominicus Bracciolini Vicarius Generalis Si Stampi Francesco
Alfonso Tallinucci per S. M. C. Giudise ordinario di Pistoja.
The title-page bears the following quotation from Bacon :

Qui partes scribendi Historiam Naturalem sibi sumpserint hoc
cogitent se nan lectoris delectationi debere inservire ; sed comparare
rerum copiam et varietatemy qua£ veris axiomatibus conficiendis suffir
ciat. Par. ad Hist. Nat. et Exper, Aph, II}

3. Facsimile Edition. Ed. W. Junk. No. 5 : N. Steno De Salido
Intra Solidum Naturaliter Contento — Dissertationis Prodamus.
Ad Serenissimum Ferdinandum II Magnum Etruriae Ducem.

Florentiae, 1669. Exempt. No. . W. Junk, Berlin N.W.,

Rathenower Str. 22, 1904.

The Berlin Facsimile is an exact reproduction of the original
edition, by the heliotype process.

4. De Solido Intra Solidum Naturaliter Contento — Disserta-
tionis Prodromus. Ad Serenissimum Ferdinandum II Magnum
Etruricu Ducem. (A corrected text of the original edition.)
Vilhelm Maar, Nicolai Stenonis Opera Philosophica (Copenhagen,
Vilhelm Tryde, MCMX), Vol. II, pp. 181-227.

III. INCOMPLETE EDITION

E Dissertatione Nicolai Stenonis De Solido Intra Solidum
Naturaliter Contento Excerpta In Quibus Doctrinas Geological
Quae Hodie Sunt In Honore Facile Est Reperire. Curante Leo-
poldo Pilla, Florentiae, Ex Typographia Galilaeiana, 1842.

Pillas edition of 1842 may be found in the Library ctf the Uni-
versity of Bologna, the British Museum, the Library of the Geolog-
ical Society in London, and undoubtedly in other libraries. It

' Translation : * Let those who undertake the writing of natural history reflect that they
ought not to be subservient to the pleasure of the reader • . . but that they ought to collect
and prepare a store and diversity of things whidi may be sufficient for forming genuine

[Plate VIII.]

SERENISSIME

MAGNE DVX.

GNOTAS regiones adeunti-
bus frequenter cuenic, dum
per loca concinuis mondbus
afpera feftinant ad vrbenu
in vertice eorum fitam , vt
(imul vifam , (imul proxi-
mam fibi arbicrentur , licet
multiplices viaruin ambages
ad tedium vfque fpem illorum morentur . Sola^
enim proxima cacumina proipiciunt , qua: verd
eorumdem cacuminum obieftu occultantur , fiae
edita collium , fiue profunda vallium , fme cam-
porum plana, conieSuras eorum vt plurimum fu-
perant, cum (ibimet ipCs abblandiendo, locorum
interualla ex defiderio metiantur . Nee aliter ft,
res ha bet cum illis , qui ad veram renim cogni
A tionem

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRODROMUS 197

contains 28 pages and a reduced plate. The text is accompanied
by brief notes in Latin. This edition, like that of Beaumont, is
very incomplete.

IV. TRANSLATIONS

I . The Prodromus to a Dissertation Concerning Solids Naturally
Contained within Solids. Laying a Foundation for the Rendering
a Rational Accompt both of the Frame and the several Changes
of the Masse of the EARTHy as also of the various Productions
in the same- By Nicolaus Steno. English 'd by H. O. London.
Printed by J. Winter, and are to be Sold by Moses Pitt at the
White-Hart in Little Brittain, 1671.

This translation is a bibliographical rarity, as are all editions of
Steno. H. O. is undoubtedly Henry Oldenburg, who was elected
Secretary of the Royal Society, April 22, 1663, and continued to
act in that capacity until November 30, 1677, at a salary of forty
pounds a year.^

Maar^ mentions only the copies in the Royal Library of Copen-
hagen and the British Museum. There is also a copy in the Library
of the Geological Society, London, and another in the Harvard
University Library. It is odd that the Royal Society should not
have been presented with a copy by the author; possibly one may
have been presented, and lost. The British Museum copy is imper-
fect, the plate being lacking. The page facing the preface bears the
name fos. Banks. This can be no other than Sir Joseph Banks,
the celebrated English naturalist, who became President of the

* See Record of Royal Society ^ 3d ed., 191 2, p. 207 ; and Birch, History of the Royal
Society^ Vol. II (1756), p. 376. Oldenburg was succeeded by Robert Hooke. Under the
date of June 25, 1667, Samuel Pepys remarks: **I was told, yesterday, that Mr. Oldenburg,
our Secretary at Gresham College, is put into the Tower, for writing news to a virtuoso in
France, with whom he constantly corresponds in philosophical matters ; which makes it very
unsafe at this time to write, or almost do any thing.^^ And again, under date of April 30,
1669: '^This morning I did visit Mr. Oldenburgh, and did see the instrument for perspective
made by Dr. Wren, of which I have one making by Browne ; and the sight of this do please
me mightily."

For the records of Oldenburg^s arrest on June 20, 1667, and his release on August 26 of the
same year by orders of Charles II, see C. R. Weld, History of the Royal Society, London,
1848, vol. I, pp. 201-204. An account of Oldenburg^s life may be found ibid,, pp. 259-261.

A brief notice of the H. O. edition was contributed, probably by Oldenburg himself, to the
Royal Society. See Philosophical Transactions, vol. VI (1671), p. 2179 fF. ; Abridged Edi-
tion of Philosophical Transactions, vol. I (1665-1672), London, 1809, pp. 605, 606.

* Opera Philosophica, Vol. II, p. 356.

igS INTRODUCTION

Royal Society in 1778 and who is known to have bequeathed his
collection of books and botanical specimens to the British Museum.
The copy in the Library of the Geological Society is inscribed with
the name Rob. Dav on the upper right-hand corner of the fly-leaf,
where the last part of the name, Davis, has been worn away.

The Harvard copy is thus described by its donor, Professor J. B.
Wood worth, in Science, Vol. 25 (1907), pp. 738, 739: "There are
sixteen pages of preface with the title-page, and 112 pages of text
and one plate ; the size of the printed part of the page measures 2.75
inches wide by 5.5 inches high. . . . The copy in the writer's pos-
session is bound up as a separately paged tract at the end of a small
volume of the celebrated Robert Boyle's * Essays of Effluvium, etc.,'
containing also his * Essay about the Origine and Virtue of Gems * of
1672.* A general title-page gives reference to Steno's work. This
title-page is dated 1673.^ All of the contained tracts appear to have
been separately printed at different dates between 1671 and 1673, at
which last date they were brought out in the form above described."'

* In this connection the following item from the History of the Royal Society (Vol. Ill, p.
55) is of interest: "Mr. O. presented from Mr. Boyle his Essay about the Origin and Vir^
tues of GemSy printed at London, 1672, in 8vo."

^ Woodworth's title-page, as reproduced in Science, vol. 25, p. 738, ascribes the publica-
tion of the treatise to F. Winter. The letter is not F but a quaintly formed /, as is dear
from the reappearance of the same letter in the spelling of the "Nordjuyces in the " Interpreter
to the Reader." Maar, op. cit.. Vol. II, p. 336 also printed F, but in a letter in reply to my
contention writes : " Of course you are quite right. It is a / and not an F on the title-page of
Steno's treatise."

' Dr. Maar is the possessor of a similar copy which is not described in his Opera PhUo^
sophica. The title-page reads :

ESSAYS
Of the
Strange Subtility
Determinate Nature
Great Efficacy

To which are annext

New Experiments to make FIRE

and FLAME Ponderable.

Together with

A Discovery of the Perviousness of Glass,

ALSO

An ESSAY, about the Origine
and Virtue of GEMS.
By the Honorable Robert Boyle,
Fellow of the Royal Society.
To which is added
The PRODROMUS to a Dissertation
concerning Solids naturally contained with-

of EFFLUVIUMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRODROMUS 199

The translation is preceded by an address or preface bearing the
title: "The Interpreter to the Reader." Since this is of unusual
interest because of the writer's testimony regarding the results of
the independent investigation of the nature of gems by Robert
Boyle, we print it here in full :

" Reader,

"This Ingenious Piece, lately publish 't in Italy, (where 'twas
Printed in Latin), and thence come to the hands of the Interpreter,
was thought fit to be English 'd, chiefly upon this occasion, That the
Stationer, that hath Printed it, did, upon Information given Him of
the Valuable Contents thereof, earnestly soUicite, that it might
forth-with be put into this Language; he not only conceiving, that
there being now very little or no commerce between the English
Book-sellers, and those of Italy, the conveyance of this Book, (as it
doth of others there Printed) into England would prove very tardy;
but also considering, that though within a reasonable time some
Copies of it should come over, yet there would not be enough of
them, to serve all sorts of curious English-Men, nor even that num-
ber of English Readers versed in the Latin Tongue, which this
Considerable Discourse is like to meet with, forasmuch as it giveth
very fair hopes. That by a due weighing of the particulars, therein
laid down, the sagacious Inquirers into Nature may be much as-
sisted to penetrate into the true knowledge of one of the Great
Masses of the World, the EARTH, and therein to find out not only
the Constitution of the Whole, but also the several Changes, and the
various Productions made in the Parts thereof; as the Excellent
Robert Boyle ^ hath of late Years, with great Acuteness as well as

in Solids Giving an Account of the Earth

and its Productions.
By Nicholas Steno, Englished by H. O.
London, Printed by W, G. for M. Pitt, at
the Angel near the little North Door
of St Paul's Church. 1673.
A copy of this edition, consigned to the translator, was lost in the sinking of the ^^ Hes-
perian,^^ September 6, 191 5. Another copy of the H. O. translation, now in the translator's
possession, is an independent volume in its original calf binding. To the bibliographical data
presented above, it may be interesting to add that the first page of the translation is adorned
with the conventional emblems of the rose, fleur-de-lis, and thistle, each surmounted by the
crown of Charles II as Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The book is very rare.

^ The reference is to Memoirs for a General History of the Air (which, however, was not
published until 1692), by Robert Boyle (1627-1691), in the edition of P. Shaw, Vol. Ill, Lon-

200 INTRODUCTION

unwearied Industry, led us on a great way in the knowledge of
another of the great Masses, the AIR, though the same also hath
not been unmindful of considering this very subject, here treated of;
forasmuch as He, before he would see or hear any thing of this
Prodromus, did upon occasion candidly declare to the Author of
this Version, (who bona fide here publickly attests it,)

" First, That he doth, upon several inducements, suppose, the
generality of Transparent Gems or Precious Stones to have been
once Liquid substances, and many of them, whilst they were either
fluid, or at least soft, to have been imbraced with Mineral Tinctures,
that con-coagulated with them ; whence he conceiveth, that divers
of the real qualities and vertues of Gems (for he doubts, most
ascribed to them are fabulous) may be probably derived. And
as for Opacous Gems and other Medical Stones, as Bloud-Stones,
Jaspers, Magnets, Emery, etc. He esteems them to have, for the
most part, been Earth (perhaps in some Cases very much diluted
and soft,) impregnated with the more copious proportion of fine
Metallin or other Mineral Juyces or Particles; all which were after-
wards reduced into the forme of Stone by the supervenience (or the
exalted action) of some already in-existent petrescent liquor or
petrifick Spirit, which he supposeth may sometimes ascend in the
forme of Steams ; from whence may be probably deduced not only
divers of the Medical Vertues of such stones, but some of* their
other Qualities, as Colour, Weight, etc. and also explained. How it
may happen what He hath (and, he doubts not, others may have
also) observed of Stones of another kind, or Marcasites, or even
Vegetable and perhaps Animal substances, that have been found
inclosed in solid Stones ; For, these Substances may easily be con-
ceived to have been lodged in the Earth, whilst it was but Mineral
Earth or Mud ; and afterwards to have been, as 'twere cased up by
the supervenient Petrifick Agents that pervaded it.^

" Nor are these Petrescent liquors the only ones, to which he sup-
poseth that many Fossils may owe their Origin, since he thinks,

don, 1725, pp. 15-98. The edition of Boyle's works by Thomas Birch (first edition, 1744, in
five volumes, the second, 1772, in six) has not been accessible to me.

^ " Of these Pretious Stones this Noble Philosopher was pleased to leave with the Publisher
a Manuscript of his composure, now ready to be Printed, which he assurM him it had been
several Years ago."

H. O. refers to Boyle's The Origin and Virtues of Genis^ published in 1672. Cf. Shaw,
VoL III, pp. 99-143, and above, p. 198.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRODROMUS 201

there may be, (if one may so speak) both Metallescent and Mineral-
escent Juyces in the bowels of the Earth, and that sometimes they
may there exist and operate under the forme of Spirits or Steams.^

" Beside this, we cannot but take notice here of what was in-
timated a good while ago in Numb. 32. of the Phil. Transactions, p.
628, viz. That Mr. Robert Hook had at that time ready some Dis-
courses upon this very Argument, which, by reason of the many
avocations he hath met with in the rebuilding of the City of Lon-
don, and his attendance on the R. Society, he hath not yet been able
quite to finish for the Press.

" Now this being so, that several judicious Persons do employ
themselves in the inquiry after the Observables in the greater Parts
of the World, there is no question but many remarkable things will
be detected therein ; and, (to speak more generally on this occasion,)
since 'tis apparent, that the Ingenious and Diligent almost every-
where are entring more and more into Philosophical Leagues, for
the discovery of the works of God and the Operations of Nature, we
cannot but entertain pregnant hopes, that notwithstanding all the
oppositions of Lazy and Envious Men, a good harvest of consider-
able and useful knowledge will be reaped in time, and thence good
store of fruitful seed be ministred for large successive crops of the
same kind, for the magnifying of our great Creatour, and the Eno-
bling and benefiting of Man-kind."

2. Extrait De La Dissertation de Nicolas S tenon sur les corps
solides qui se trouvent contenus nature llentent dans d^autres corps
solides. In Collection Academique de Dijon^ Partie Etrangere^ IV,

I757> pp. 377-414.

3, Prodromus d^une dissertation sur le solide contenu naturellement
dans un autre solide ; extrait et traduit par M. Elie de Beaumont.
Paris, 1832.

This translation appeared in Annates des Sciences Nature lies,
Paris, 1832, Vol. 25, pp. 337-377. The article is entitled Fragmens
geologiques tires de Stenon, de Kazwini, de Strabon et du Boun-
Dehesch.

Copies of Beaumont's translation may be found in the libraries

^ ^ About which he also was willing not only to shew to the Publisher several Observations
and Collections of his in the forme of Discourses, but also to put them into his hands to
peruse the same.^^

202 INTRODUCTION

of the Royal Society and the Geological Society, London. The
title-page of the edition in the Geological Society shows that Beau-
mont based his work on the Leyden edition of 1679. It is, however,
a summary rather than a translation, emphasizing chiefly the section
dealing with the origin of mountains.

4. Nicolaus Steno Forelffbig Meddelelse Til en A/handling Ont
Faste Legemer^ Der Findes Naturlig Indlejrede I Andre paste Lege-
mer I Overscettelse Ved August Krogh Og Vilhelm Maar Med
Indledning Og Noter, Kj^benhavn, MfMII. Gyldendalske Bog-
handels Forlag Langkjaers Bogtrykkeri.

This is a quarto volume containing a portrait of Steno, an Intro-
duction, pp. i-xii, the Translation, pp. 3-89, the Explanation of
Figures, pp. 91-93, and a half-sized reproduction of the original
plate. The attestations are given on page 97, not numbered, and page
98. Pages 101-106 contain notes. The edition is limited to 700
numbered copies.

V. SELECTED REFERENCES

Angelis, de, Article Stenon in Biographie Universelle {Mtckaud)^
Ancienne et Moderne^ Nouvelle Edition, Tome Quarantieme, Paris,
pp. 209-211.

Capellini, G., Di Nicola Stenone e dei suoi studi geologici in Italia^
University of Bologna, 1870.

Chereau, Article Stenon in Dictionnaire Encyclopedique des Sci-
ences Medicates, Troisieme Serie, Tome Onzieme, Paris, 1883,
pp. 689-691.

Eloy, N., Dictionnaire Historique de la Medicine, Tome Second,
Li^ge, i755>PP- 391-393-

Fabronius, A., Vitce Italorum Doctrina Excellentium Qui Saeculis
X VII et X VIII Floruerunt {Visis, 1778-1805), Vol. Ill (1779).

Geikie, A., Tke Founders of Geology (2d ed., London, 1905),
PP- 53-60.

Gosch, C. C. A., Udsigt over den danske Zoologiske Literature
2 Afdeling, i Hefte, KjzJbenhavn, 1872.

Hughes, T. M., Steno, in Nature, Vol. 25 (1882), pp. 484-486.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRODROMUS 203

Huxley, T. H., The Rise and Progress of PaUeontology^ Discourse
at York (Meeting of the British Association), in Nature, Vol. 24
(1881), pp. 452-455.

Jorgensen, A. D., Niels Stensen, K^benhavn, 1884.

Kocher, A., Herzog Johann Friedrich, Bischof Steno, u. Pastor
Petersen, in Zeitschrift des historischen Vereins fiir Niedersacksen,
1889, pp. 204-212.

Lorenzen, A., Niels Stensen, Der Vater der Geologie, in Die Natur,
Vol. 3 (1854), p. 220 ff.

Lyell, C, Principles of Geology (9th ed., New York, 1853),
pp. 21-24.

Manni, D. M., Vita del Litteratissimo Mgr. Niccolo Stenone,
Firenze, 1775.

Plenkers, W., Der Ddne Niels Stensen, Ein Lebensbild nach cUn
Zeugnissender Mit- und Ncuhwelt entworfen, Freiburg im Br., 1884.

Spencer, L. J., Article Crystallography,\n Encyclopcedia Britannica,
nth ed., Vol. yil, pp. 569, 570; cf. also Article Steno, ibid..
Vol. XXV, p. 879.

SoUas, W. J., The Influence of Oxford on the History of Geology,
in Science Progress, Vol. 7 (1898), pp. 25-29.

Wichfeld, J., Erindringer om den Danske Videnskabsmand Niels
Stensen, in Historisk Tidsskrift, 3 Raekke, 4 Bind (Kj0benhavn,
1865), pp. 1-109.

Wood worth, J. B., Steno, in Science, Vol. 25 (1907), pp. 738, 739.

Von Zittel, K. A., Geschichte der Geologic und Paldontologie bis
Ende des ip fahrhunderts (Miinchen u. Leipzig, 1899), pp. 32-36.

Steno ist der erste Forscher weUher geologische Probleme auf in-
ductivem Wege zu losen versuchte und zugleich eine klare Vorstellung
davon hattCy dass die Geschichte der Erde aus ihrer Zusammensetzung
und ihrem Aufbau ermittelt werden k'onne. Fur die Entwicke-
lung der Geologie blieben leider die Schriften dieses Schar/sinnigen
Forscher s ohne jegliche Bedeutung ; sie wurden von den Zeitgenossen
kaum beachtet, geriethen in Vergessenheit und fanden erst in diesetn
Jahrhundert durch Elie de Beaumont und Alexander von Humboldt
die verdiente Anerkennung.

— Von ZitteLf Geschichte der Geologie und Palaontologie^ pp. 35, 36.

204

* • • • «

• <

• • • .

•

THE PRODROMUS ' "; /

Mas/ Serene Grand Duke:^

Travellers into unknown realms frequently find, as they hasten
on over rough mountain paths toward a summit city, that it
seems very near to them when first they descry it, whereas mani-
fold turnings may wear even their hope to weariness. For they
behold only the nearest peaks, while the things which are hidden
from them by the interposition of those same peaks, whether
heights of hills, or depths of valleys, or levels of plains, far and
away surpass their guesses; since by flattering themselves they
measure the intervening distances by their desire.
P. «.* So, and not otherwise, is it with those who proceed to true
knowledge by way of experiments ; for as soon as certain tokens
of the unknown truth have become clear to them, they are of a
mind that the entire matter shall be straightway disclosed.
And they will never be able to form in advance a due estimate
of the time which is necessary for loosing that knotted chain
of difficulties which, by coming forth one by one, and from con-
cealment, as it were, delay, by the constant interposition of
obstacles, them that are hastening toward the end. The begin-
ning of the task merely reveals certain common, and commonly
known, difficulties, whereas the matters which are comprised in
these difficulties — now untruths which must be overthrown,
now truths which must be established ; sometimes dark places
which must be illumined, and again, unknown facts which must
be revealed — shall rarely be disclosed by any one before the
clew of his search shall lead him thither. Democritus,' not un-

^ Ferdinand II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; see p. 179.

^The pagination is that of the original publication, which is reproduced in the Berlin Fac-
simile (p. 196).

'Steno doubtless had in mind the proverb recorded by Diogenes Laertius (IX. 72) ; crc^
& ov8cv Z8/ACV- ev /3v^ y^ ^ dXi/^eio, Mn reality we know naught, for truth lies in a well.^
fiv^y strictly speaking, denotes the depth of the sea (cf. ^Eschylus, Prometheus^ 432). It is
in this sense that Cicero {Academica Prior,, ii. 10, 32) repeats the proverb : naturam accusa,
quae in profundo veritatem, ut ait Democritus, penitus abstruserity *• Accuse nature, which has

205

2o6 .. • NKOLAUS STENO

wisely, wa/s-.wont tb use the illustration of a well, wherein one

could. ^catcely estimate aright the task and time of draining it

.dryyex6^pt by draining it dry, since both the number and the

.. •. volume of the hidden springs leave the amount of the intake a

• ;;. *• 'matter of doubt

Do not be surprised, therefore. Most Serene Prince, if, fpr a
whole year's time, and, what is more, almost daily, I have said
that the investigation for which the teeth of the shark ^ had fur-
nished an opportunity, was very near an end. For having once
or twice seen regions where shells and other similar deposits of
the sea are dug up, when I observed that those lands were sedi-
ments of the turbid sea and that an estimate could be formed
of how often the sea had been turbid in each place, I not only

P. 8. over-hastily fancied, but also dauntlessly informed others, that a
complete investigation on the spot was the work of a very short
time. But thereafter, while I was examining more carefully the
details of both places and bodies, these day by day presented
points of doubt to me as they followed one another in indissoluble
connection, so that I saw myself again and again brought back
to the starting-place, as it were, when I thought I was nearest
the goal. I might compare those doubts to the heads of the
Lemean Hydra, since when one of them had been got rid of,
numberless others were born; at any rate, I saw that I was
wandering about in a sort of labyrinth, where the nearer one
approaches the exit, the wider circuits does one tread.^

But I shall not tarry to excuse this tardiness of mine, since it
is abundantly evident to you, from long experience, how per-

hidden the truth completely, as Democritus says, in the depth.* Cf. also Acad, Past,y i.
12, 44 : Democritus (dixit) in profunda veritatem esse demersam.

Steno^s use of the word puteus (' well ^) accords with the expression of the proverb in his
time. Rabelais {Pantagruel, iii. 36) incorrectly ascribes the saying to Heraditus : fe sums
descendu au puiz tenebreux, auqutl disait Heraclitus estre vtritt cacfUe, A curious addition
to the original was made by Francis Bacon (edition of Spedding, Ellis, Heath, Vol. XIII,
p. 383) when he wrote, *^ Democritus said < that truth did lie in profound pits, and when it was
got, it needed much refining/ ^^

The proverb has given rise to several allegorical paintings of Truth in which the well figures
prominently. Among these are Paul Baudry^s "Truth,"). J. Lefebure's " Truth,** both in
the Luxembourg ; and Titian^s so-called " Sacred and Profane Love," in the Boighese Gallery.

^ Canis Carcharia, Steno^s treatise Canis Carchariae Dissectum Caput is dated 1667 and
is reprinted by Maar, N", Stenonis Opera PhUosophica^ Vol. II, pp. 1 13-145. Cf. p. 125,
especially.

^The language is reminiscent of Seneca, Epistles^ 44- 7*

THE PRODROMUS 207

plexing is a matter which is involved in a series of experiments.
But the fact that, after a large part of the task assayed had been
completed, I should drop everything and ask your leave to re-
turn to my native land to pursue anatomical investigation —
this indeed would demand an excuse did I not know that this
obedience on the part of a subject of another prince would not
be displeasing to you, which in a similar circumstance would
please you on the part of your own subjects. And this hope of
mine concerning your kindness is made surer by that exceptional
goodwill, whereby, through devoting generous assistance^ to the
advancement of my studies, you wished that unrestricted oppor-
tunity for learning should be left to me whenever occasion might
arise. Therefore, since I no longer dare to hope for the time neces-
P. 4. sary for finishing the tasks which I have begun, I shall do in the
payment of my promises what has been conceded by common
custom to debtors ; when they have not the means to pay in full,
they pay what they have, in order that they may not be forced
to withdraw from business. Since, then, I am unable to complete
all the things which were to be shown to you, I shall offer the
chief of what I have found, in order that I may not appear to
have deceived you.

I should gladly have postponed everything until it had been
possible for me, on my return to my native land, to perfect the
details, were I not awaiting the same fortune there which I have
hitherto experienced everywhere, in that new tasks have con-
stantly stood in the way of finishing those first undertaken.
While I was intent upon counting the glands of the entire body,^
the wonderful structure of the heart ^ carried me away into an
examination of it; and the deaths of my kin ^ interrupted the
studies I had begun on the heart. Your seas furnished us a
shark ^ of marvellous size to keep me from applying mysdf to

^See p. 179. ^For Steno's work on the glands, see pp. 176, 188 f.

' Steno first mentions his study of the heart in a letter to Thomas Bartholin dated '* the
last of April,'' 1663, Leyden. See Maar, Opera Philosophical Vol. I, p. 155. In 1667 Steno
published his Elementorum Myologiae SpecimeUy Seu Musculi Descriptio Geometrica. Cf.
p. 190.

^ While studying in Leyden, 1664, Steno learned of the death of his stefHfather, Johannes
Stlchman. The death of Steno's mother occurred soon after his arrival in Copenhagen. See
p. 178.

^For the treatise Canis Carchariae Caput y see p. 206, note i. Compare also Historia
Dissecti Piscis Ex Canum GenerCy Maar, oP- cit.. Vol. II, pp. 147-^55.

2o8 NICOLAUS STENO

the detailed description of the muscles; and now, when I am
wholly devoted to my present experiments, he whose command
the law of nature bids me heed, and whose great kindness toward
me and mine constrains me, calls me to other things.^

To what end all these matters may come, I do not care to
inquire anxiously, lest it be, peradventure, to accredit to myself
things which are due to a higher cause. If long contemplation
had added something of my own, as it were, to discoveries not
my own, certainly if I had tarried longer in working out one
discovery, I should myself have shut the door to the finding of
the rest. And so, not knowing what other experiments and
P. 6. studies may await me elsewhere, I thought it best to set forth
here these nriatters concerning a solid naturally contained within
a solids which shall be a pledge to you of gratitude for the favors
I have received and shall afford to others, who are enjoying their
desired leisure, an opportunity of pursuing their studies of
physics and geography with greater profit.

As regards the production of a solid naturally contained
within a solid, I shall first sketch briefly the method of my
Dissertation, then explain concisely the more noteworthy mat-
ters which appear in it.

The Dissertation itself I had divided into four parts, of which
the first, taking the place of an introduction, shows that the
inquiry concerning sea objects found at a distance from the sea,
is old, delightful, and useful ; but that its true solution, less
doubtful in the earliest times, in the ages immediately following
was rendered exceedingly uncertain. Then after setting forth
the reasons why later thinkers abandoned the belief of the
ancients, and why, although one may read a great many ex-
cellent works by many authors, the question at issue has
hitherto been settled by no one anew,^ I show, returning at

^Steno refers to the invitation of Frederik III; cf. p. i8i. He got no £uther than
Amsterdam, however. See p. 182.

^ There is an interesting discussion on the nature and origin of fossil shells in Bernard
Palissy's Des Pierres (Discours Admirables^ etc., Svo, Paris, 1580). Referring to Palissy^
Fontenelle (Jiistoire de VAcadimie des Sciences, Ann^ 1720, p. 5) remarks: "Un potier dc
terre, qui ne savait ni latin ni grec, fut le premier qui, vers la fin du XVI* si^cle, osa dire dans
Paris, et k la face de tous les docteurs, que les coquilles fossiles ^taient de veritable coquilles
d^pos^es autrefois par la mer dans les lieux ou elles se trouvaient alors. que des animaux, et
surtout des poissons, avaient donn^ aux pierres figure toutes leurs diff(frentcft %ures ; et il

THE PRODROMUS 209

length to you, that besides very many other things which under
your auspices have in part been discovered, and in part freed
from old doubts, to you is due our trust that the finishing touch
shall soon be put upon this investigation also.

In the second part is solved a universal problem upon which
depends the unravelling of every difficulty, and it is this: given
a substance possessed of a certain figure^ and produced according
P- ^ to the laws of naturey to find in the substance itself evidences
disclosing the place and manrur of its production. In this con-
nection, before I proceed to unfold the solution of the problem,
I shall strive to expound all its terms, with the view of leaving
no school of philosophers in doubt, and in dispute, as to their
significance.

The third part I have reserved for the investigation of dif-
ferent solids contained within a solid, in accordance with the
laws discovered in the solution of the problem.

The fourth part describes various conditions in Tuscany not
treated by historians and writers upon natural subjects, and sets
forth a process of the universal deluge which is not at variance
with the laws governing movements of nature.

I had indeed begun to set forth these things in Italian, both
because I knew this would please you, and in order that it
might appear to the illustrious Academy^ which has enrolled

d^fia hardiment toute T^cole d^Aristote d^attaquer ses preuves.^^ The quotation is taken from
Flourens, De la LonghHtt humaine et de la QtiafUiti de Vie sur U Globe ^ Paris, 1855, PP* ^<^»
201.

The dialogue in Palissy's Discotirs is between Theorique and Practiquey whose contention
may be illustrated by the following quotation :

^ Et par ce quMl se trouue aussi des pierres remplies de coquilles, iusques au sommet des
plus hautes montagnes, il ne faut que tu penses que lesdites coquilles soyent formees, comme
aucuns disent que nature se ioue k faire quelque chose de nouveau. Quand i*ay eu de bien
pres regard^ aux formes des pierres, i^ay trouu^ que nulle dMcelles ne pent prendre forme de
ooquille ny d^autre animal, si Tanimal mesme n^a basti sa forme : parquoy te &ut croire quMl y
a eu iusques au plus haut des montaignes des poissons armez et autres, qui se sont engendrez
dedans certains cassars ou receptacles d^eau, laquelle eau meslee.de terre e d^un sel congelatif
et generati^ le tout s^est reduit en pierre auec Tarmure du poisson, laquelle est demeuree en sa
forme. ... II feut done conclure que auparauant que cesdites coquilles fussent petrifies, les
pcHSSons qui les ont formees estoyent viuans dedans Teau qui reposoit dans les receptacles
desdites montagnes, et que depuis Teau et les poissons se sont petrifiez en un mesme temps, et
de ce DC £iut douter.^^ (Etivres Complies de Bernard Palissy, by Paul-Antoine Cap, Paris,

18449 pp. 277, 279.

^ The Accademia del Cimento ; see p. 180. This Academy came to an end in 1667 when
its foundefi Lipoid de* Medici, became a Cardinal.

2IO NICOLAUS STENO

me among its members, that as I am least worthy of so great
an honor, so am I most desirous of proving the attempts where-
by I am striving to attain some knowledge of the Tuscan
tongue. But I am not grieved that the necessity has been
placed upon me of postponing that writing ; for as my present
journey promises me a fuller knowledge of matters serving to
elucidate my investigation, so the delay assures me of a happier
advancement in my study of the language.

It would be a long task to write out in detail all my observa-
tions, together with the conclusions drawn from them, devel-
oped in accordance with the method suggested; wherefore, I
shall report sometimes conclusions, and again observations, as
may seem best, in order to explain the chief points briefly, and
p. 7. as clearly as possible.

The reason why, in the solution of natural questions, not only
do many doubts remain undecided but, for the most part, such
doubts multiply with the number of writers, seems to me to
depend chiefly upon two causes.

The first cause is that few take it for granted that all those
difficulties, without whose solution the settlement of the ques-
tion itself is left marred and incomplete, must be removed.
The present inquiry illustrates this point. Only a single diffi-
culty vexed the ancients, that is in what way marine bodies had
been left in places far from the sea; and the question was never
raised whether similar substances had been produced elsewhere
than in the sea.^

^ The presence of fossil shells in places remote from the sea is discussejt^in the Geography
of Strabo {circa 67 B.C.-19 a.d.), C. 49, 50 (I. 3, 4) :

* He (Eratosthenes) says that a particularly interesting subject of inquiry is afforded by the
fact that an abundance of cockle, oyster, and scallop shells, and salt-water lakes are frequently
seen far inland, two or three thousand stadia from the sea, as in the case of the temple of
Ammon and the road leading up to it for a distance of three thousand stadia. For a profusion
of oyster shells, salt beds, and salt springs can still be found there at the present time. In
addition to this, wrecks of sea-going vessels are pointed out which were said to have been cast
up through some chasm. ...

* In this he agrees with the opinion of Strato, the physicist, and of Xanthus, the Lydian.
Xanthus asserts that in the reign of Artaxerxes there was so great a drought that the rivers,
lakes, and wells dried up ; and that he had frequently found, £Eir from the sea, fossil shells,
some like cockles and others like scallops, as well as salt lakes in Armenia, Matiana, and
Lower Phrygia. On this account he was convinced that what are now plains had once been
sea. Strato, who searched more deeply for the causes of these phenomena, believed that the
Euxine formerly had no outlet at Byzantium, but the rivers which emptied into the Euxine
had forced an opening, and that the water thereupon fell into the Propontis and the Hellespont;

THE PRODROMUS 21 1

In more recent periods the difficulty of the ancients was
pressed with less insistence, since almost all were concerned
with tracing out the origin of the bodies mentioned. They
who ascribed them to the sea accomplished this result: they
proved that bodies of this character could not have been pro-
duced by any other agency. They who attributed these bodies
to the land, denied that the sea could have covered the places
where they were found, and were wholly engaged in praising the
forces of a Nature of which they had little knowledge — forces
fitted to produce anything whatsoever. Perhaps a third opinion
may properly be admitted, in accordance with which a part of
the bodies under consideration is regarded as attributable to the
land, and a part to the sea. Nevertheless there is deep silence
almost everywhere concerning the doubt of the ancients, except
that some make mention of floods, and a sort of immemorial
succession of years, but merely in passing and, as it were, in
P. •. treating another subject. In order, therefore, to satisfy, to the
best of my ability, the laws of analysis, I wove and unwove the
web of this research, and scrutinized its various details again
and again, until I saw no difficulty left any longer in the read-
ing of authors, or in the objections of friends, or in the ex-
amination of places, which I had not either solved, or at least
determined, from facts hitherto known to me, to what extent a
solution was possible.

The first question was, whether Glossopetrae Melitenses ^ were

' The same thing happened in the case of the Mediterranean. For the sea, after having
been fiUed by the rivers emptying into it» had broken a passage through at the Pillars (Gibral-
tar), and the places formerly covered with shoal water, were left dry by this eruption. He
(Strato) finds the cause for this, first, in the feet that the bottoms of the Atlantic and of the
Mediterranean are not on the same level, and, secondly, in the fact that even now a sand-bank
runs beneath the water from Europe to Libjra, bearing witness to the time when the Mediter-
lanean and the Atlantic were not united. Strato also said that the waters around Pontus are
very shallow, whereas off Crete, Sidly, and Sardinia they are very deep. . . .

*• £g3^t, too, he said, was formerly covered by the sea as far as the marshes near Pelusium
(Tineh) and Mount Casius (El-Kas) and Lake Sirbonis (Lake Sebaket-Bardoil). Even now,
when salt is dug in Egypt, the beds are found beneath layers of sand and mixed with fossil
shells, as if the country had formerly been under the sea, and all the r^on around Casium
and Gerra (Maseli) had a shoal extending to the Arabian Gulf.^

1 The literal translation of Glossopetrae Melitenses is ^ tongue^tones firom Malta.^ In the

treatise Canis Carckariae Dissectum Caput (1667), Steno was not free from doubt as to the

origin of the * stones,^ as shown by the following passage (Maar, op*cit,^ Vol. II, pp. 127, 128) :

No decision has yet been reached regarding the la^^pc glossopeiraeyZ^ to whether they are

shark^s teeth or stones formed in the earth. Some have maintained that substances found in

'l

212 NICOLAUS STENO

once the teeth of sharks; this, it was at once apparent, is
identical with the general question whether bodies which are
similar to marine bodies, and which are found far from the sea,
were once produced in the sea. But since there are found also
on land other bodies resembling those which grow in fresh
waters, in the air, and in other fluids, if we grant to the earth
the power of producing these bodies, we cannot deny to it the
possibility of bringing forth the rest. It was necessary, there-
fore, to extend the investigation to all those bodies which, dug
from the earth, are observed to be like those bodies which we
elsewhere see growing in a fluid. But many other bodies, also,
are found among the rocks, possessed of a certain form ; and if
one should say that they were produced by the force of the

the earth, resembling parts of animals, are the remains of animals which once lived on the
spot ; while others believe that such substances were formed in the earth without reference to
animals. I have not sufficient knowledge in these matters to venture an opinion at this time.
Although my travels [Steno accompanied Ferdinand II in his travels through Tuscany ; cf.
Plenkers, Niels Stensetiy pp. 31, 58] have led me through various regions of this sort, I would
not presume to assert that the places which I shall see in the rest of my journey will correspond
to those I have already examined ; especially since I have not yet seen the regions which my
distinguished teacher Bartholin has examined in his journey in Malta. Just as in court,
therefore, one man takes the r61e of defendant, another of plaintiff, while both submit to the
decision of the judge, so I shall present, as a result of my observations, the reasons for ascrib-
ing such substances to animals. At another time I may set forth the reasons for the opposite
belief^ but I shall always await a true decision from those who are better informed.* For
Steno^s illustrations oi glossopetrae see Maar, op. cit,y Vol. II, Tab. III.

Pliny {Natural History^ XXXVII. 164) states that the glossopetray resembling the human
tongue, ' is not produced (nasci) in the earth, as tradition relates, but falls from heaven at
the time of the waning moon.* Compare, further, O. Abel, article PalaontohgU und Palao-
zoologies in Die Kultur der Gegenwarty Driller Teily Vierle AbleUung^ Vierte Band (Leiprig,
I9i4),pp. 313, 314:

<' Albertus Magnus hatte noch die Moglichkeit zugegeben, dass die Versteinerungen nlcht
ausschliesslich Produkte der Virtus formativa seien, sondern dass auch die Leichenreste
fossiler Tiere und Pflanzen dort zu Stein werden konnten, wo eine steinmachende Kraft ihren
Einfiuss ausiiben konne. Ungefahr in denselben Bahnen bewegen sich die Vorstellungen von
Georg Bauer, genannt Agricola (1494-1555); Haifischzahne, die er nach dem Vorbilde des
alteren Plinius *• Glossopetren ' nennt (eine Bezeichnung, die noch G. W. Leibniz ftir fossile
Pottwalzahne 1749 gebrauchte), sind nach Agricola Werhartete Wassergemenge.* **

Ibid.y p. 344 : ''*• Die Glossopetren des Plinius sind fossile Haifischzahne, und da solche in
tertiaren Bildungen zu den haufigeren Wirbeltierresten gehoren, so erregten sie schon fiiih-
zeitig die Aufmerksamkeit. Es berlihrt eigentUmlich, noch heute einen einfiachen Taglohner,
der gewiss nicht die mindeste Ahnung von der Literatur der Scholastenzeit besitzt, dnen
fossilen Haifischzahn, den er in seinem Bruche fiand, als ' Vogelzunge ' bezeichnen zu horen.
Bis zur Zeit Knorrs und Walchs gingen Haifischzahne vorwiegend unter der Bezeichnung
Zungensteine, Vogelzungen, Schwalbenzungen oder Schwalbensteine, Lamiodonten, Schlan-
genzungen usw. durch die Literatur, und noch Leibniz hielt an der Bezeichnimg ^ Glossopetra *
des alteren Plinius fest.^^

THE PRODROMUS 213

place, one must confess that all the rest were produced by the
same force. And so I saw the matter finally brought to the
point that any given solid naturally contained within a solid
must be examined in order to ascertain whether it was produced
in the same place in which it is found ; that is, the character
P. 9. not only of the place where it is found, but also of the place
where it was produced, must be investigated. But no one, in
truth, will easily determine the place of production who does
not know the manner of production, and all discussion concern-
ing the manner of production is idle unless we gain some cer-
tain knowledge concerning the nature of matter. From this it
is clear how many questions must be solved in order that a
single question may be set at rest

The second cause, the nurse of doubts, seems to me to be
the fact that in the consideration of questions relating to nature
those points which cannot be definitely determined, are not
distinguished from those which can be settled with certainty.
And the result is that the leading schools of philosophers are
reduced to two classes. Some religiously refrain from putting
credence even in demonstrations, out of fear that there be lurk-
ing in them the error which they have often found in other
asserted truths. Others, on the contrary, would by no means
allow themselves to be bound to consider as certain only those
matters to which no one of sound mind and sound senses
could deny credence, but believe that all things are true which
have seemed to themselves fine and clever. Nay, the very
advocates of experiment have rarely had sufficient self-control
to refrain either from casting aside even most certain funda-
mental facts of nature, or from considering the fundamental
facts discovered by themselves as proved. In order that I
might, therefore, avoid ^ this rock also, I decided that in the
sciences of nature we must enforce the principle which Seneca ^

^ In the Florentine edition of 1669, evitare is an obvious misprint for evitarem,
^ Seneca nowhere, so fsir as I know, gives expression to the first part of Steno^s sentence.
But the language of the last part is identical with that of Epistlesy 29. 1 1 : ex omni domo con-
clamabunty Peripateticiy Academiciy Staiciy Cynici, The only point of difference is that Seneca
has the future tense, conclamabunt, where Steno has the present, conclamant. The first part
of Seneca^s sentence does indeed mention < the people,^ but scarcely in a manner apropos of
Steno^s argument. Epicurus is represented as saying : *• I never wished to please the people.
For the people does not approve what I know, and what the people approves, I do not know.^
Steno may have been thinking oi de BeneficiiSy I. 11, i, where benefits are classified as neces-'

214 NICOLAUS STENO

' again and again inculcates concerning maxims of morality ; he
says that those are the best maxims of morality which are
p. 10. common, which are of the people, which all of every school
proclaim, Peripatetics, Academics, Stoics, and Cynics. And
certainly those statements of the fundamental facts of nature
cannot fail to be best which are common, which are accepted
of the people, which all of every school are held to acknowl-
edge, both those who in everything are desirous of novelty, and
those who are devoted to ancient doctrines.

I do not determine, therefore, whether the particles of a
natural body, can or cannot undergo change, as its form does ;
whether there are or are not minute interstices; whether in
those particles there is present, besides extension and hardness,
something else unknown to us ; for these expressions are not
of common acceptance, and it is a weak argument to deny that
there is anything else in a certain object because I do not
discern anything else in it.

I do assert, however, without hesitation :

1. That a natural body is an aggregate of imperceptible
particles which is subject to the operation of forces proceeding
from the magnet, fire, and sometimes light also; in whatever
way, indeed, passages may be found, whether between the par-
ticles, or in the particles themselves, or in both.

2. That a solid diflFers from a fluid in that in a fluid the
imperceptible particles are in constant motion, and mutually
withdraw from one another; while in a solid, although the
imperceptible particles may sometimes be in motion, they
hardly ever withdraw from one another so long as that solid
remains a solid and intact.

p. 11. 3. That while a solid body is being produced, its particles
are in motion from place to place.

4. That as yet we know of nothing in the nature of matter
by the aid of which the principle of motion, and the perception
of motion, can be explained; but that the determination of
natural motions can be altered by three causes :

(i) By the motion of a fluid permeating all bodies ; and we

sary, useful, and pleasant, and of Ep.y 12. 11, where < the best things' are said to be < com-
mon ' : gfuu optima sunt, esse communia.

THE PRODROMUS 21$

say that those things which are produced in this
way are produced naturally.

(2) By the motion of living beings; and many of those

things which in this way are produced by man, are
said to be artificial.

(3) By ^^^ fi^'st and unknown cause of motion ; and even

the pagans believed that there was something divine
in motions which originate in this way. Surely
to deny to this cause the power of accomplishing
results contrary to the usual course of nature, is
the same as to deny to man the power of changing
the courses of rivers ; or of battling with sails against
the winds ; or of kindling fire in places where with-
out man fire would never be kindled ; or of quench-
ing a light which would not wane except with the
ceasing of its supply; or of ingrafting the shoot of
one plant upon the branch of another; or of pro-
ducing summer fruits in mid-winter months; or of
making ice in the very heat of summer; or of a
thousand other things of the kind which are in con-
flict with the usual laws of Nature. For if we our-
selves, who know not the structure of our own and
other bodies, change the determination of natural
motions every day, why cannot He change their
P. 11. determination who not only knows our structure

and that of all things, but also made them ? To be
ready, again, to marvel at the cleverness of man
acting with free will in the case of things done by
his skill, and to deny a free agent to the products of
Nature, would indeed seem to me to betoken great
lack of penetration ; since when man has performed
the most ingenious things, he cannot, save through
a cloud, discern what he has done, or what instru-
ment he has used, or what that cause is by which
the instrument is moved.

These details, proved both by experiments and by arguments,
I shall set forth at greater length in the Dissertation itself, in
order that it may be clear that there is no philosopher who

2i6 * NICOLAUS STENO

does not say the same thing* although not ahtays in die same
words ; or, if he has said otherwise, who does not, nevertheless,
agree to the principles from which these details necessarily fc^
low. For the statements I have affirmed concerning matter
hold true in all cases, whether one considers matter as atoms,
or particles changeable in a thousand ways, or the four elements,
or whatsoever chemical elements may be assumed to suit the
differences of opinion among chemists. And further, the state-
ments which I have made concerning the determination of
motion, are consistent with every agent, whether you call
the agent the form, or the qualities proceeding from the form, or
the idea, or the tenuous common substance, or the tenuous
particular substance, or the individual soul, or the world soul,
or the immediate act of God.

After these things I shall explain the various modes oi
speaking admitted by common usage, whereby we explain in
P. i». different ways the different production of different, and some-
times the same, substances ; for whatever contributes anything
to the production of any substance, does this either as place, or
as matter, or as the agent Hence when like produces like, it
contributes to that object the place, the matter, and the motion
of production, just as the small plant enclosed within the seed
of some plant receives from that parent plant the matter in
which it has been produced, the matter from which it has been
produced, and the motion of the particles by which it has
received its form ; this same thing is true of animals enclosed
within the egg of similar animals.

While the particular form or soul is producing something,
the motion of particles in the production of that body is
determined by some particular agent, whether this be the
agent of another similar body or something else similar to this
agent.

The things which are said to be produced by the sun receive
the motion of their particles from the sun's rays, just as those
which are attributed to the influences of the stars may receive
the motion of their particles from the stars ; for since it is cer-
tain that our eyes are affected by the light of the heavenly
bodies, it will also be beyond cavil that the rest of matter may
be affected by them in the same way.

THE PRODROMUS 217

The things which the earth bears receive from the earth
nothing except the place in which they are produced and the
matter supplied to them through the pores of the place,
The things which are produced by Nature receive the motion

P. 14. of their particles from the motion of a penetrating fluid,
whether this fluid come from the sun, or from the fire con-
tained within the matter of the earth, or from some other cause
unknown to us, as the agency of the soul, and so on.

He, therefore, who attributes to Nature the production of any
thing, names the universal agent which appears in the produc-
tion of all things; he who calls the sun to share, limits that
agent a little more ; he who names the soul or the particular
form, mentions a more limited cause than the rest: but one
who nevertheless duly weighs the answers of all, finds nothing
known, seeing that Nature, the sun's rays, the soul, and the
particular form, are things known only by name. But since,
besides the agent, matter and place ought to be taken account
of in the production of substances, it is clear that the answer
(" produced by Nature ") is not only more unknown than the very
thing under investigation, but altogether incomplete ; as, for ex-
ample, mollusks found on land are said to have been produced
by Nature, while those that grow in the sea are also Nature's
work. Nature indeed produces all things, seeing that the pen-
etrating fluid has a place in the production of all things; but
one may also say with truth that Nature produces nothing,
since that fluid by itself accomplishes nothing; its determina-
tion depends upon the place and the matter to be moved. We
find an illustration in man : he can produce anything if all the
necessary things are at hand, but if they are wanting, can pro-
duce nothing.

P. 15. He who attributes the production of anything to the earth,
names the place indeed, but since the earth affords place, in
part at least, to all the things of earth, the place alone does not
account for the production of the body. The same thing can
be said about the earth as about Nature; that is, the things
which are formed in the earth are all produced by the earth,
and of those things which are formed in the earth none is pro-
duced by the earth.

2i8 NICOLAUS STENO

The few points set forth above suffice for the solution of all
the doubtful issues in our inquiry, and I have desired to sum
them up now in the three following propositions :

I

If a solid body is enclosed on all sides by another solid body,
of the two bodies that one first became hard which, in the
mutual contact, expresses on its own surface the properties of
the other surface. Hence it follows :

1. That in the case of those solids, whether of earth, or rock,
which enclose on all sides and contain crystals, selenites, mar-
casites,^ plants and their parts, bones and the shells of animals,
and other bodies of this kind which are possessed of a smooth
surface, these same bodies had already become hard at the time
when the matter of the earth and rock containing them was
still fluid. And not only did the earth and rock not produce
the bodies contained in them, but they did not even exist as

P. !«. such when those bodies were produced in them.

2. That if a crystal is enclosed in part by a crystal, a selenite
by a selenite, a marcasite by a marcasite, those contained
bodies had already become hard when a part of the containing
bodies was still fluid.

3. That in the earth and rock in which crystalline and petri-
fied shells, veins of marble, of lapis lazuli, silver, mercury, anti-
mony, cinnabar, copper, and other minerals of this kind are
contained, the containing bodies had already become hard at
the time when the matter of the contained bodies was stiU
fluid; and that, consequently, the marcasites were produced
first, then the stones in which the marcasites are enclosed, and»
finally, the veins of minerals which fill the fissures of the rock.

II

If a solid substance is in every way like another solid sub-
stance, not only as regards the conditions of surface, but also
as regards the inner arrangement of parts and particles, it will
also be like it as regards the manner and place of production,
if you except those conditions of place which are found time

* By the term " crystals," Steno means mineral quartz (cf. p. 237) ; seleniles refers to crys-
tals of gyp3um, and marcasiies to pyrites (cf. p. 225, n. i).

THE PRODROMUS 219

and again in some place to furnish neither any advantage nor
disadvantage to the production of the body. Whence it
follows :
P. 17. I. That the strata of the earth, as regards the place and
manner of production, agree with those strata which turbid
water deposits.

2. That the crystals of mountains, as regards the manner
and place of production, agree with the crystals of niter,^ al-
though it is not therefore essential that the fluid in which they
were produced should have been aqueous.

3. That those bodies which are dug from the earth and
which are in every way like the parts of plants and animals,
were produced in precisely the same manner and place as the
parts of the plants and the animals were themselves produced.
But in order that no uncertain interpretation of the term place
may beget new doubts, I shall forestall that difficulty here.

By the term place I mean that matter which with its own
surface is in immediate contact with the surface of the body
which is said to be in that place. But that matter allows sun-
dry diflFerences, for :

(i)' It is either wholly solid, or wholly fluid, or partly solid
and partly fluid.

(2) It is either wholly perceptible by itself, or partly percep-

tible by itself and partly perceptible through tests.

(3) It is either wholly contiguous to the body which it con-

tains within itself, or even partly continuous with the
same body.

(4) It is either always the same or undergoes change gradu-

ally. Thus the place in which a plant is produced is
the matter, like that of the plant, within which the
minute plant receives its form. Thus the place in
which the plant grows is all that matter which, with
its own surface, is in immediate contact with the
entire surface of the plant, consisting sometimes of
P. It. earth and air, sometimes of earth and water, some-

times of earth, water, and air; sometimes of only
stone and air, as in underground places I have time

^ Steno was, of course, ignorant of the chemical difference between quartz and niter. The
first b silicon dioxide, SiO,, and the second is saltpeter, NaNo,.

220 NICOLAUS STENO

and again seen the roots of small plants, without any
covering of earth at all, clinging to the surface of the
tuff. Thus the place where the orange grows, after
the blossom has fallen, is partly the peduncle continu-
ous with it, and partly the air contiguous to it. Thus
the place where the first growth occurs in animals, is
partly the amniotic fluid contiguous to it, and partly
the umbilical vessels scattered through the chorion,
continuous with it.

Ill

If a solid body has been produced according to the laws of
nature, it has been produced from a fluid.

In the production of a solid body, both its first outlines and
its growth should be taken into account; but as I freely con-
fess that the outline of most of the bodies is not only doubtful
to me, but wholly unknown, so do I believe, without any hesi-
tation, thg.t nearly all the following statements concerning their
growth are true.

A body grows while new particles, secreted from an external
fluid, are being added to its particles. This addition, more-
over, takes place either immediately from an external fluid, or
through one or more mediating internal fluids.

The additions which are made directly to a solid from an
P. 19. external fluid sometimes fall to the bottom from their own
weight, as sediments do ; sometimes the additions are made to
a solid on all sides from a fluid bearing matter toward the solid,
as in the case of incrustations ; or the additions are made only
to certain places of the solid surface, as in the case of those
bodies which present fibres, branches, and angular bodies.^
Here it must be noted in passing that the processes mentioned
sometimes continue until an entire cavity is filled with such
additions, and hence replacements occur which are sometimes
simple, are sometimes formed from incrustations, sometimes
from sediments, sometimes from angular bodies, and some-
times from various bodies variously intermingled.

The particles which are added to a solid by a mediating

1 Angulaia corpora is the phrase used by Steno to denote crystals in general ; crystaUus is
confined to quartz. See p. 218, n. i.

THE PRODROMUS 221

internal fluid either take on the form of fibres (since they are
partly added through open pores along the length of the ex-
tended fibril, and are partly disposed in the interstices of the
fibrils into the form of a new fibril by the permeating fluid), or
form simple replacements: and in these two ways plants and
animals are formed. Since I am less familiar with the anatomy
of plants, I do not decide whether there are present several
internal fluids ; but it is certain that in animals di£ferent inter-
nal fluids are to be found, and I shall try to reduce these to a
definite classification.

Besides the attenuated fluid permeating all things, we note in
the case of animals at least three kinds of fluids, of which the
first is external ; the second is internal and common, the third
P. ao. an internal fluid peculiar to each part. By the term external
fluid I mean that fluid in animals which not only surrounds the
surface exposed to our eyes, as the atmosphere, but also that
which is in contact with all the remaining surfaces of the body
which are continuous with it through the larger foramina of the
surface, such as the entire surface of the trachea, with which the
air inhaled in breathing comes in contact ; the entire surface of
the alimentary canal, by which I mean the mouth, the oesopha-
gus, the stomach, and the intestines ; the entire surface of the
bladder, and of the urethra; the entire surface which com-
municates with the uterus, especially in the years of puberty ;
the entire surface of all the excretory organs from the capillaries
even to the orifices which discharge their contents into the
ears, eyelids, nose, eyes, alimentary canal, bladder, urethra,
uterus, and skin — a separate enumeration of which would show
that many are truly external which are commonly considered in-
ternal, nay, even internal in the highest degree, and hence it
follows :

1. That worms and calculi are generated within our body

and that most are formed in the external fluid.

2. That many parts are essential to certain animals be-

cause they have them, not because the animal cannot
exist without them.

A fluid which is in contact with these surfaces I call external
because it communicates with the surrounding fluid by means

222 NICOLAUS STENO

of canals without intermediate capillary veins, that is, without
P. «i. cribration ; and the result is that although the cavities contain-
ing the fluids mentioned may be closed at times, still whenever
they are opened, they discharge all their retained fluid without
a dividing membrane.

I call that fluid internal which does not communicate with the
external fluid except through the intermediate strainers of the
capillary veins, and therefore never discharges all its contents
naturally into the external fluid without a dividing membrane.

The internal common fluid is that which is contained in the
veins, arteries, and lymphatic ducts, at least in those ducts which
connect the conglobate glands^ and the veins. I call this fluid
common because it is distributed over all parts of the body.
Concerning another common fluid which resides in the nerve
substance, I have nothing to say, because it is unknown.

The internal peculiar fluid is that fluid which is sent about in
the capillary veins of the common fluid, and which varies with
the diversity of places ; for it is one thing in bloody parenchy-
mata,^ another in bloodless parenchymata, another around the
muscle fibres,' another in the capsule of the ovum, another in
the substance of the uterus, and still another in other places.
For that belief accords with neither reason nor experience, which
supposes that the ends of the veins and arteries terminate in the
smallest possible particle of the body for the distribution of
warmth and nourishment at that point.* But there are cavities
everywhere, and the elements which have been secreted into
these cavities from the blood are mingled with the fluid of that

* The lymphatic glands, as shown by Steno's treatise De GlanduUs Oris et Novis inde
Prodeuntibus Salivae Vasis^ printed by Maar (Vol. I, p. 20, and note, p. 227).

2 The ti2im^ parenchyma was given by Erasistratus to the peculiar substance of the lungs,
liver, kidneys, and spleen, on the theory that this substance, as distinguished from the flesh of
the muscles, was formed from the blood which flowed from the veins and coagulated in the
organs mentioned. See Galen, IIcpi rrj^ rwv ^^pfuxKiav Kpacrco)? kgu Awaftcois, book XI,
prooemium ; and €i? to irepl ^ixrcois avOpwrov 6t)3A.(ov 'IinroKpaTovs 'Yirofivrffui irpStTO¥f 4
(edition of Mewaldt, Helmreich, and Westenberger, Leipzig, 1914, p. 6).

• Steno's phrase is circa fibras matrices. This is defined in Elementarum Myologiae Sped-
nutiy Maar, op, cit., Vol. II, p. 69: *The fibra matrix is a certain bundle of very minute
fibrillae closely joined longitudinally. ... I call such a fibre matrix because it seems to me
to be the true organ of motion in an animal. For the muscle is nothing except a collection
of such fibres.'

< Steno refers to the theory commonly accepted before Harvey's demonstration of the circu-
lation of the blood. This is the view expounded in Plato's Timaeus (79, 80), a work which,
in a crude Latin translation, profoundly influenced the science of the Middle Ages.

THE PRODROMUS 223

P. St. particular place, thereupon to be added to the solid parts, just
as the particles worn from the solid parts flow back into the
same cavities, to be restored to the blood again in order that
with its help they may be carried back to the external fluid.
The doctrine concerning the fluid of these cavities agrees in
many ways with the teaching of the great Hippocrates ^ concern-
ing air.

Although I may not be able to determine why different fluids
are secreted in di£ferent places from the same blood, I hope,
nevertheless, that a few things hold true for determining that
question ; since it is certain that such secretion does not depend
upon the blood, but upon the places themselves. An examina-
tion of this matter is comprised under these three heads :

1. The consideration of the capillary veins of the internal
common fluid ; with which alone they concern themselves who
attribute all things to cribration through the different pores —
with whom I, too, was for a long time numbered.

2. The consideration of the internal peculiar fluid, with which
alone they busy themselves who ascribe a special ferment to
each part. Their belief may be partially true, although the
name ferment rests upon a comparison taken ^ from too specific
a process.

3. The consideration of the particular parts of a solid ; and
upon this they especially lay emphasis who acknowledge, by
ascribing to each part its own form, that they recognize in it
something peculiar to that part, but which is unknown to us,
and which, according to the knowledge of matter which we have
so far gained, can be nothing else than the porous surface of

P. ». that solid, and the attenuated fluid permeating the pores.

I should wander too far afield if I were to apply the foregoing
statements to the explanation of those things which take place
in our body every day, and still they cannot otherwise be ex-
plained. It will suffice to have hinted here that the particles
which separate from the external fluid in various ways are
carried into the internal common fluid through the intervening

^ The TLtpa ^^vaiay of Hippocrates assigns air in the body as the cause of all diseases, and
different diseases as merely due to different organs thus affected ; cf. the edition of Hippoc-
rates by Uttr^, Vol. VI, pp. 92, 104-106, and Maar, ofi. cit„ Vol. II, p. 335.

'For desumpta in the Florentine edition of 1669 read desumptae.

224 NICOLAUS STENO

cribration, and that after having been secreted from it likewise
in various ways, and having been transmitted into the internal
peculiar fluid by fresh cribration, they are added to the solid
parts in the form of either fibres or parenchymata, according as
they have been directed by the property of a given part, un-
known to us, included in the consideration of the three forego-
ing statements.

If, now, we wish to reduce to definite classes the solids
naturally contained within solids in the fashion indicated, we
shall find some of them produced by accretion from the external
fluid, which are due either to deposits, as the strata of the
earth; or to incrustations, as the agate, onyx, chalcedony,
eaglestone,^ bezoar,^ and so on ; or to filaments, as the amian-

* The Latin word is aetites. The *eaglestone' is defined thus by the New Oxford Dic-
tionary : ^*' A hollow nodule or pebble of argillaceous oxide of iron, having a loose nucleus,
which derived its name from being &bled to be found in the eaglets nest, and to which medic-
inal and magical properties were ascribed.""

Some of these properties are mentioned by Damigeron, de Lapidibus^ Lapis Aetites:

' The aetites is a very great safeguard of nature ; God gave this stone to men as a protection
to health. The eagle carries the stone to its nest from the uttermost parts of the earth for the
sake of guarding its eggs. . . . The aetites has a purple color and a very rough appearance,
and has another stone within it, as if it were pregnant. It is useful to pregnant women, for
when bound upon the left arm it prevents abortion. It is also very useful for accelerating
parturition. For if taken from the woman^s arm, and ground and placed upon her back, it
will bring her immediate release. Furthermore, it will preserve the one who wears it, for it
will make him sober and superior to all things ; it will increase his wealth and spread about
his good repute, and he will be most agreeable. ... It is a remedy for insanity and
unspeakable terrors, preserving the sufferers from dreaming and frequently falling. If you
suspect that there is a poi.soner in your home, put the stone in a relish and invite the suspect
to dinner. If he is a poisoner, he will eat nothing, and if he ventures to swallow, he will not
be able to do so. Such power has this stone. But if you remove the stone from the relish,
the criminal will begin to eat and make merry. The wearing of the stone also greatly lessens
anger incurred from powerful men. This stone is a sort of safeguard ; the eagle uses it as
a preventive against harm. For the eagle carries it from a never-failing river and puts it
against the young in the nest to keep them from being harmed by another bird." Abel,
Orphei Lithica^ accedit Damigeron de Lapidibus (Berlin, 1881), pp. 163, 164.

Similar statements are found in Pliny, N, H.y X. 12 (3) ; XXX. 130 (14). Val. Rose,
in his study of the sources of Damigeron {Hermesy Vol. IX, 1875, pp. 471-491), cites an in-
teresting parallel from Demosthenes, Concerning Stones, pp. 481, 482.

Palissy (cf. p. 208) ventures an independent opinion as to the origin of the aetites : ^Ml y a
beaucoup d"autres pierres qui sont fbrm^es selon le suiet qu"ils ont pris, comme quelques
autres pierres que i"ay veues que Ton nomme Pierre d"Algle. Quelque chose que Ton en die,
ie croy que ce n"est autre chose qu"un fruit lapifi^, et ce qui ioue dedans est le noyau, qui
estant amoindry quand on secoue ladite pierre, ledit noyau frappe des deux costez dMcelle.""
(Euvres Completes de Bernard Falissy, by Paul-Antoine Cap, Paris, 1844^ p. 284.

^ An account of the medical history of the Besoar is given by A. Laboulb^ne in Diction-

THE PRODROMUS 22$

thus, feathery alum, different kinds of veins which I have
observed in the fissures of rocks ; or to dendrites, as those forms
of plants which are seen in the chinks of stones, except that
certain ramifications- in an agate which I have seen, whose
trunks rested on the surface of the outer lamella but whose
branches spread throughout the substance of the inner lamella,
are merely superficial ; or to angular bodies, as the crystals of
P. M. mountains, the angular bodies of iron and copper, cubes ^ of
marcasites, diamonds, amethysts, and the like; or to replace-
ments, as variegated marbles of every kind, granites, dendrites,
petrified mollusks, crystalline substances, metallic plants, and
many similar bodies filling the places of bodies which have
been destroyed.

Other solids are produced by accretion from the internal
fluid ; and these are due either to simple replacements, as fat,
the callus uniting broken bones, the cartilaginous substance
joining severed tendons, the tissues which chiefly form the sub-
stance of the viscera, the medulla in both plants and animals ;
or to fibrous growths, as the fibrous parts of plants, the nerve
fibres and muscle fibres in animals, also, which are all solid
bodies and are naturally enclosed, for the most part, within solids.
If, therefore, every solid has had its accretions, at any rate,
from a fluid, if bodies similar to one another in all respects were
also produced in a similar way, and if of two contiguous solids
that one first became hard which exhibits on its own surface the

fioire Encyclopidique des Sciences MidicaUs^ Tome Neuvi^me (Paris, 1868), pp. 221-225.
Steno refers, of course, to the fossil, which is briefly alluded to in the work mentioiied, p. 225 :
'* Le b^zoard fossile ^tait compost de masses globuleuses de carbonate de chaux, r^uoies en
couches concentriques." ,

A fuller description of the stone is quoted by Maar {pp, cU.y Vol. II, p. 336) from the
DicHannaire RaisantU Universel ctHistoire NaturelUy by Valmont-Bomare, 3d ed., Lyon,
1 791, Vol. II, p. 230:

^Une pierre arrondie, de couleur cendr^e, composde de couches concentriques, friables,
depuis la grosseur d^une aveline jusq^k celle dMn oeuf d^oie. Au centre de cette pierre est
quelquefois un grain de sable, une petite coquille, ou un morceau de charbon de terre. Une
de ces matieres a servi de noyau, de point d^appui, et venant k rouler sur des terres molles,
k demi-tremp^es, elle s^est ainsi accrue par couches roul^es comme une pelotte de rubans.^

^ For uhi of the Florentine edition read cubi^ with Maar, op. cit,^ Vol. II, p. 195. By
f cubes of marcasite ^^ Steno, in common with the older scientists, means pyrites. Marcasite
has the same chemical composition as pyrites, FeS„ being iron disulphide. But marcasite
crystallizes in orthorhombic form, whereas pyrites crystallizes in the cubic system. See H.
N. Stokes, On Pyrite and MarccuUe^ in Bulletin of United States Geological Survey ^ No. 186
(1901).

226 NICOLAUS STENO

characteristics of the other's surface, it will be easy, granted
a solid and the place in which it is, to affirm something definite
about the place of its production. And this, indeed, is the
general question of a solid contained within a solid.

I pass to the more particular investigation of those solids dug
from the earth which have given rise to many disputes ; espe-
P. w. cially incrustations, deposits, angular bodies, the shells of marine
animals, of moUusks, and the forms of plants. Under incrusta-
tions belong rocks of every kind consisting of layers, whose
two surfaces are indeed parallel but not extended in the same
plane. The place where incrustations are formed is the entire
common boundary of fluid and solid ; and the result is that the
form of the layers or crusts corresponds to the form of the
place, and it is easy to determine which of them hardened first,
which last. For if the place was concave, the outer layers were
formed first; if convex, the inner ;^ if the place was uneven
because of various larger projections, the new layers were pro-
duced in the larger spaces when the narrower spaces had been
filled with the formation of the first layers.

From this fact it is easy to account for all the differences of
form which are seen in sections of similar rocks, whether they
show the round veins of a tree cut transversely, or resemble the
sinuous folds of serpents, or run along, curved in any other way,
without law. Nor is it surprising that agates and other kinds
of incrustations seem, so far as regards their outer surface,
rough like ordinary stones,^ since the outer surface of the outer
layer imitates the roughness of the place. In torrents, however,
incrustations of this kind are more frequently found outside of
the place of their production, because the matter of the place
has been scattered by a breaking up of the strata.

Concerning the manner in which particles of the layers
P. M. which are to be added to a solid are separated from the fluid,
the following at least is certain :

^ The reference is doubtless to the formation of secretions in the first instance, and con-
cretions in the second.

' The Florentine edition reads saxis ignobilis instar asperos ; this is partially corrected iik
th^ Ley den edition of 1679 ^^ ^^^* ^^c* '^^^ correct reading saxt ignobilis instar asperos is
given by Maar, op, cit,, Vol. II, p. 196.

THE PRODROMUS 227

1. That there is in it no place for buoyancy or gravity.

2. That the particles are added to surfaces of every kind,
since surfaces smooth, rough, plane, curved, and consisting of
several planes at different angles of inclination, are found over-
spread by the layers,

3. That movement of the fluid causes them no hindrance.
Whether the substance under consideration which flows

from a solid, be different from that substance which moves the
parts of the fluid, or whether something else is to be sought, I
leave undecided.

Different kinds of layers in the same place can be caused
either by a difference of the particles which withdraw from the
fluid one after the other, as this same fluid is gradually disin-
tegrated more and more, or from different fluids carried thither
at different times. From this fact it follows that the same
arrangement of layers sometimes recurs in the same place, and
often evident traces revealing the entrance of new matter re-
main. But all the matter of the layers seems to be a finer sub-
stance emanating from the stones, as will further appear in the
following.

THE STRATA OF THE EARTH

The strata of the earth are due to the deposits of a fluid :

1. Because the comminuted matter of the strata could not
have been reduced to that form unless, having been mixed with

p. 17. some fluid and then falling from its own weight, it had been
spread out by the movement of the same superincumbent fluid.

2. Because the larger bodies contained in these same strata
obey, for the most part, the laws of gravity, not only with re-
spect to >the position of any substance by itself, but also with
respect to the relative position of different bodies to each other.

3. Because the comminuted matter of the strata has so ad-
justed itself to the bodies contained in it that it has not only
filled all the smallest cavities of the contained body, but has
also expressed the smoothness and lustre of the body in that
part of its own surface where it is in contact with the body,
although the roughness of the comminuted matter by no means
admits of similar smoothness and lustre.

Sediments, moreover, are formed so long as the contents in

1

228 NICOLAUS STENO

a fluid fall to the bottom of their own weight, whether the said
contents have been carried thither from some other where, or
have been secreted gradually from the particles of the fluid,
that too, either in the upper surface, or equally from all the par-
ticles of the fluid. Although a close relationship exists be-
tween crusts and sediments, they can nevertheless be distin-
guished easily because the upper surface of crusts is parallel to
the lower surface, however rough ^ this may be from various
larger projections, while the upper surface of sediments is paral-
lel to the horizon, or deviates but slightly therefrom. So in
rivers, the mineral layers, now green, now yellow, now reddish,
do not remove the unevenness of a stony bottom, while a sedi-
ment of sand or clay makes all level ; and it is due to this fact
P. «t. that in the formation of the different composite strata of the
earth I have easily distinguished crusts from sediments.

Concerning the matter of the strata the following can be
affirmed :

1 . If all the particles in a stony stratum are seen to be of the
' same character, and fine, it can in no wise be denied that this

stratum was produced at the time of the creation from a fluid
which at that time covered all things; and Descartes* also
accounts for the origin of the earth's strata in this way.

2. If in a certain stratum the fragments of another stratum,
or the parts of animals and plants are found, it is certain that
the said stratum must not be reckoned among the strata which
settled down from the first fluid at the time of the creation.

3. If in a certain stratum we discover traces of salt of the
sea, the remains of marine animals, the timbers of ships, and a
substance similar to the bottom of the sea, it is certain that the
sea was at one time in that place, whatever be the way it came
there, whether by an overflow of its own or by the upheaval of
mountains.

4. If in a certain stratum we find a great abundance of rush,
grass, pine cones, trunks and branches of trees, and similar ob-

^ aspera, Florentine edition, is an error for asperae.

« The reference is to Descartes, Principia Philosophiae (first edition Amsterdam, 1644),
Pars Quartay XXXII ff. See CEuvres de Descartes^ PubUies par Charles Adam et Paul
Tanruryy Paris, Vol. VIII (i905)» P- 220 if.

THE PRODROMUS 229

jects, we rightly surmise that this matter was swept thither by
the flooding of a river, or the inflowing of a torrent.

5. If in a certain stratum pieces of charcoal, ashes, pumice-
stone, bitumen,! and calcined matter appear, it is certain that a

P. ». fire occurred in the neighborhood of the fluid ; the more so if
the entire stratum is composed throughout of ash and charcoal,
such as I have seen outside the city of Rome, where the mate-
rial for burnt bricks is dug.

6. If the matter of all the strata in the same place be the
same, it is certain that that fluid did not take in fluids of a dif-
ferent character flowing in from different places at different times.

7. If in the same place the matter of the strata be different,
either fluids of a different kind streamed in thither from differ-
ent places at different times (whether a change of winds or an
unusually violent downpour of rains in certain localities be the
cause) or the matter in the same sediment was of varying grav-
ity, so that first the heavier particles, then the lighter, sought
the bottom. And a succession of storms might have given rise
to this diversity, especially in places where a like diversity of
soils is seen.

8. If within certain earthy strata stony beds are found, it is
certain either that a spring of petrifying waters existed in the
neighborhood of that place, or that occasionally eruptions of sub-
terranean vapors occurred, or that the fluid, leaving the sediment
which had been deposited, again returned when the upper crust

•^ had become hardened by the sun's heat.

Concerning the position of strata, the following can be con-
sidered as certain :

I. At the time when a given stratum was being formed, there v

was beneath it another substance which prevented the further
P. io. descent of the comminuted matter ; and so at the time when the
lowest stratum was being formed either another solid substance
was beneath it, or if some fluid existed there, then it was not
only of a different character from the upper fluid, but also
heavier than the solid sediment^ of the upper fluid.

^ The inclusion of bitumen in the list indicates that Steno was ignorant of its true nature
as an organic compound.

* sedimenta^ Florentine edition, is an error for sedimento.

^

v;

?30 NICOLAUS STENQ

\ , 2, At the time when one of the upper strata was being

formed, the lower stratum had already gained the consistency
of a solid.

3. At the time when any given stratum was being formed it
was either encompassed on its sides by another solid substance,
or it covered the entire spherical surface of the earth. Hence
it follows that in whatever place the bared sides of the strata are
seen, either a continuation of the same strata must be sought, or
another solid substance must be found which kept the matter of
the strata from dispersion.

4. At the time when any given stratum was being formed,
all the matter resting upon it was fluid, and, therefore, at the
time when the lowest stratum was being formed, none of the
upper strata existed.

As regards form, it is certain that at the time when any given
stratum was being produced its lower surface, as also its lateral
surfaces, corresponded to the surfaces of the lower substance
and lateral substances, but that the upper surface was parallel
to the horizon, so far as possible ; and that all strata, therefore,
except the lowest, were bounded by two planes parallel to the
P. 91, horizon. Hence it follows that strata either perpendicular to
the horizon or inclined toward it, were at one time parallel to
the horizon.

Moreover, the changed position of strata and their exposed
sides, such as are seen to-day in many places, do not contradict
my statements; since in the neighborhood of those places evi-
dent traces of fires and waters are to be found. For just as
water disintegrating earthy material carries it down sloping
places not only on the surface of the earth but also in the earth's
cavities ; so fire, breaking up whatever solids oppose it, not only
drives out their lighter particles but also sometimes hurls forth
their heaviest weights; and the result is that on the surface of
the earth are formed steeps, channels, and hollows, while in the
bowels of the earth subterranean passages and caverns are pro-
duced.

By reason of these causes the earth's strata can change posi-
tion in two ways :

THE PRODROMUS

231

The first process is the violent thrusting up of the strata,
whether this be due to a sudden burning of subterranean gases,
or be brought about through the violent explosion of air due to
other great downfalls near by. This thrusting up of the strata
is followed by a scattering of the earthy matter as dust and the
breaking up of rocky matter into lapilli and rough fragments.

The second process is the spontaneous slipping or downfall
of the upper strata after they have begun to form cracks, in con-
sequence of the withdrawal of the underlying substance, or
foundation. Hence by reason of the diversity of the cavities
P. w. and cracks the broken strata assume different positions ; while
some remain parallel to the horizon, others become perpendic-
ular to it, many form oblique angles with it, and not a few are
twisted into curves because their substance is tenacious. This
change can take place either in all the strata overlying a cavity,
or in certain lower strata only, the upper strata being left unbroken.

The altered position of the strata a£fords an easy explanation
of a variety of matters otherwise obscure. Herein may be
found a reason for that unevenness in the surface of the earth
which furnishes occasion for so many controversies; an un-
evenness manifest in mountains, valleys, elevated bodies of
water, elevated plains, and low plains. But passing over the
rest, I shall now treat briefly certain points concerning moun-
tains.

v^

/

p. 83.

THE ORIGIN OF MOUNTAINS

That alteration in the position of strata is the chief cause of
mountain formation is clear from the fact that in any given
range of mountains there may be seen :

1 . Large level spaces on the summits of some mountains.

2. Many strata parallel to the horizon.

3. Various strata on the sides of the mountains inclined at
different angles to the horizon.

4. Broken strata on the opposite sides of hills, showing abso-
lute agreement in form and material.

5. Exposed edges of strata.

6. Fragments of broken strata at the foot of the same range,
partly piled into hills, and partly scattered over the adjoining
country.

^

232 NICOLAUS STENO

7. Either in the rock of the mountains themselves, or in their
neighborhood, very clear traces of subterranean fire; just as
many springs are found around hills which are made up of
strata of earth. And here it must be observed in passing that
the hills which are formed of earthy strata, for the most part,
have as their foundation larger fragments of stony strata ; these
in many places keep the earthy strata placed upon them from
being swept away by the current of neighboring rivers and
torrents. Further, they often protect entire regions against the
violence of the ocean, as the extended reefs of BraziP and
exposed craggy shores everywhere bear witness.

Mountains can also be formed in other ways, as by the
eruption of fires which belch forth ashes and stones together
with sulphur and bitumen; and also by the violence of rains
and torrents, whereby the stony strata, which have already be-
come rent apart by the alternations of heat and cold, are
tumbled headlong, while the earthy strata, forming cracks
under great blasts of heat, are broken up into various parts.
And from this it is clear that the chief classes of mountains and
hills are two: first, of those which consist of strata; of these
there are two kinds, since in some, strata of rock prevail, in
others, strata of earth. The second class is composed of moun-
tains which rise without order or anangement from fragments
of strata and from parts, further, which have been worn away.

Hence it could be easily shown :

I. That all present mountains did not exist from the begin-
ning of things.
P. a4. 2. That there is no growing ^ of mountains.

^ Steno^s information regarding Brazil was probably gained from a book called Histaria
Naturalis Brastliaey Amsterdam, 1648. The volume contains Piso^s De Medkina Brasiliensi
Ubri QuatuoTy and George Musgrave's Histariae Rerum Natnralium Brasiliae Ubri Octo,
No doubt Casper Barlaeus^s Rerum per Octennium in Brasilia sub Praefectura MauriiH
Nasovii Historia (Amsterdam, 1647) was also known to him.

Willem Piso (1611-1678) was a member of the Brazilian expedition of Count Jan Maurits
from 1636 to 1644. Steno had known Piso in Leyden and in 1664 addressed to him the letter
on the Anatomy of the Ray {De Anatonu Rajae Epistola) printed by Maar, Opera Philosophical
Vol. I, pp. 193-207. Robert Boyle refers frequently to Piso's History of Brazil,

^ Steno^s word is vegetatio^ which suggests the growth of an organism ; but he does not
hesitate to use crescere of inorganic accretions. The passage quoted by Maar, op. cit.j Vol. II,
P< 338, from Fabronius (^Vitae Italarum (p. 202), Vol. Ill, p. 72), is singularly apposite. In

THE PRODROMUS 233

3. That the rocks or mountains have nothing in common
with the bones of animals except a certain resemblance in hard-
ness, since they agree in neither matter nor manner of pro-
duction, nor in composition, nor in function, if one may be

1657 MoDtanari and Boni, master of the mint in Vienna, journeyed to Stiermark, Bohemia,
and Hungary to examine the mines. I translate :

'They also investigated whether metals grow in the same manner as plants do, that is by
means of a circulating sap of the earth. They thought they knew, from the surest proofs, that
metals do indeed grow (crescere) — iron rather rapidly and gold more slowly. But how this
took place they were unable to decide, although Montanari inclined to believe that the growth
(maiuriiatem) was caused by accretion (fermentationi), . . . And he made fun of the levity
and weakness of those who believed the testimony of George Agricola that gnomes flit and
wander about the mines, by whom the workmen are often disturbed.'

Agricola (1494-1555), scientist though he was, fully believed in gnomes. Compare De Re
AfetaUicaj Book VI, p. 217, edition of Hoover (London, 191 2) :

^ In some of our mines, however, though in very few, there are other pernicious pests.
These are demons of ferocious aspect, about which I have spoken in my book De Animantibus
Subterraneis (the last paragraph). Demons of this kind are expelled and put to flight by
prayer and fasti ng.^'

Agricola's credulity, however, did not extend to a belief in the ^growth ^ of mountains. On
the contrary, he was perhaps the first to recognize clearly the fundamental agencies of moun-
tain sculpture, as appears from De Ortu et Causis Subterranearum^ Book II [De Re Afetaliica,
edition of Hoover, pp. 595, 596) :

^ Hills and mountains are produced by two forces, one of which is the power of water, and
the other the strength of the wind. There are three forces which loosen and demolish the
mountains, for in this case, to the power of the water and the strength of the wind we must
add the fire in the interior of the earth. Now we can plainly see that a great abundance of
water produces mountains, for the torrents first of all wash out the soft earth, next carry away
the harder earth, and then roll down the rocks, and thus in a few years they excavate the
plains or slopes to a considerable depth ; this may be noticed in mountainous regions even by
unskilled observers. By such excavation to a great depth through many ages, there rises an
immense eminence on each side. When an eminence has thus arisen, the earth rolls down
loosened by constant rain and split away by frost, and the rocks, unless they are exceedingly
firm, since their seams are similarly softened by the damp, roll down into the excavations
below. This continues until the steep eminence is changed into a slope. Each side of the
excavation is said to be a mountain, just as the bottom is called a valley.

^ Streams, moreover, and to a far greater extent rivers, effect the same results by their
rushing and washing; for this reason they are frequently seen flowing either way between
very high mountains which they have created, or close by the shore which borders them. . . .
Nor did the hollow places which now contain the seas all formerly exist, nor yet the moun-
tains which check and break their advance, but in many parts there was a level plain, until the
force of winds let loose upon it a tumultuous sea and a scathing tide. By a similar process the
impact of water entirely overthrows and flattens out hills and mountains. But these changes
of local conditions, numerous and important as they are, are not noticed by the common
people to be taking place at the very moment when they are happening, because, through their
antiquity, the time, place, and manner in which they began is far prior to human memory.

^ The wind produces hills and mountains in two ways : either when set loose and free from
bonds, it violently moves and agitates the sand ; or else when, after having been driven into
the hidden recesses of the earth by cold, as into a prison, it struggles with a great effort to
burst out For hilb and mountains are created in hot countries, whether they are situated by

234 NICOLAUS STENO

permitted to affirm aught about a subject otherwise so little
known as are the functions of things.

4. That the extension of crests of mountains, or chains, as
some prefer to call them, along the lines of certain definite
zones of the earth, accords with neither reason nor experience.^

5. That mountains can be overthrown, and fields carried
over from one side of a high road across to the other; that
peaks of mountains can be raised and lowered, that the earth
can be opened and closed again, and that other things of this
kind occur which those who in their reading of history wish to
escape the name of credulous, consider myths.^

PASSAGE-WAYS FOR THINGS ISSUING FROM THE EARTH

The same alteration in the position of strata affords a pas-
sage-way for things issuing from the earth, such as :

1. Waters, which are shut up in mountain caves away from
the air, gushing forth on the mountains, whether those waters
come from subterranean reservoirs, or have been condensed
in a place away from the upper air and then ejected. And this
I believe to be very common, since in many caverns I have
observed that everything both above and below was solid though
the water nevertheless trickled there abundantly.

2. Winds breaking forth from mountains, whether those

the sea coasts or in districts remote from the sea, by the force of winds ; these no longer held
in check by the valleys, but set free, heap up the sand and dust, which they gather from
all sides, to one spot, and a mass arises and grows together. If time and space allow, it grows
together and hardens, but if it be not allowed (and in truth this is more often the case), the
same force again scatters the sand £ar and wide. . . .

<^ Then, on the other hand, an earthquake either rends and tears away part of a mountain,
or engulfs and devours the whole mountain in some fearful chasm. In this way it is recorded
the Cybotus was destroyed, and it is believed that within the memory of man an island under
the rule of Denmark disappeared. Historians tell us that Taygetus suffered a loss in this way,
and that Therasia was swallowed up with the island of Thera. Thus it is clear that water and
the powerful winds produce mountains, and also scatter and destroy them. Fire only con-
sumes them, and does not produce at all, for part of the mountains — usually the inner part —
takes fire."

1 Steno is not referring to mountain-chains in the modem sense of the term ; he is reject-
ing Kircher's theory of chains running from north to south and east to west over the
entire surface of the earth. This is set forth in Mundus Subterraneus^ Amstelodami (1665),
Vol. I, c. ix, p. 68 ff. Cf. Maar, op. cit,. Vol. II, p. 337.

« For a nuidem exposition of Tuscan earth features, see Murchison, Geological Structure of
the AlpSy in Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society^ vol. 5 (1849), PP- '57-3", especially
pp. 263-308.

THE PRODROMUS 235

winds be air expanded by heat or whether different fluids of
P. 85. the air made violent by collision produced them.

3. Ill-smelling exhalations, fiery or frigid ebullitions, and so
on. And there is no longer any doubt of the fact that cold and
dry places boil up without any trace of heat whenever water is
poured upon them ; that a hot spring issues by the side of a
very cold spring ; that in consequence of an earthquake a hot
spring may be turned into a cold spring, and rivers change their
course ; that valleys shut in on all sides discharge their gathered
rain water into lower places ; that rivers gliding underneath the
earth's surface are in places returned to the light of day ; that in
laying foundations architects sometimes lose all their labor
when they encounter a quicksand, as it is called ; ^ that in cer-
tain places on digging wells water is at first found near the sur-
face of the ground, then after digging to the depth of several
yards new waters are discovered which at first, on the opening
of a passage-way, leap forth beyond the height of the water
already found ; that whole fields with trees and buildings sink
gradually, or are engulfed suddenly, and hence vast lakes now
exist where once stood cities ; that a plain is a source of danger
to its inhabitants from catastrophes of this kind unless. they
have made themselves sure about its foundation of rock; that
abysses emitting a deadly gas are sometimes found which are
again stopped up when a number of bodies have been cast into
them.

THE ORIGIN OF VARIEGATED STONES AND THE REPOSITORIES OF

MINERALS

The same alteration in the position of strata has given rise
to variegated stones of every kind, and at the same time
p. S6. afiForded a repository for most minerals, whether the deposition
took place in the cracks of the strata, or in those fissures which
were, in respect to matter, dry but not yet hard, either between
the layers or in their clefts ; or in the interstices between the
upper and the lower strata after the falling of lower strata ; or
in the places left empty by the decomposition of bodies therein
contained. Whence it can be shown :

I. That on the very slightest foundation, nay, apparently oii

1 arena vway ^ living sand/ is Steno^s phrase. > m

236 NICOLAUS STENO

no foundation, have been based those minute and all but incon-
ceivable subdivisions of veins made use of by diggers of min-
erals; and that divination for the abundance of metal by means
of roots and branches is, in consequence, as doubtful as is the
ridiculous belief of certain Chinese concerning the head and tail
of the dragon which they employ in finding a favorable place of
burial in the mountains.^

2. That most of the minerals for which man's labor is spent
did not exist at the beginning of things.

3. That in the investigation of rocks many things can be
disclosed which are attempted in vain in the study of the min-
erals themselves, seeing that it is more than probable that all
those minerals which fill either the clefts or expanded spaces of
rocks had as their matter the vapor forced from the rocks them-
selves, whether the deposition took place before the strata
changed their position, as I believe happened in the mountains
of Peru,2'or when the strata had already changed their position ;
and that a new metal can therefore form in the place of an

P. w. exhausted one, as is believed rather than known concerning the
mining of iron among the people of Elba, for the miner's tools
and the idols which have been found there were surrounded
not with iron but with earth.'

And these things concerning the strata of the earth I thought
ought to be investigated the more carefully, not only because
the strata themselves are solids naturally enclosed within solids
but also because in them are contained almost all those bodies
which gave rise to the question propounded.

^ This practice is mentioned by Kircher, Ckifta lUustrata (Amstelodami, 1667), p. 135,
who quotes Trigautius, De Christiana Expeditione apud Sinas Suscepta (Augustae Vind.,
161 5), lib, I, ix, p. 95. ^One characteristic of the Chinese can be mentioned. In seeking a
spot for building private and public structures, or for burying their dead, they examine the spot
with the head, tail, and feet of various dragons which are supposed to live beneath it ; and
they believe that all their adversity and prosperity depend upon the dragons.' Maar, op. a'i.^
Vol. II, p. 337.

What is perhaps the first published description of the divining rod and its use in finding
minerals or water, is given by Agricola, De Re MetalUca^ II, edition of Hoover, pp. 38-42.
See also Robert Boyle, edition of Shaw, Vol. I, pp. 172, 173.

^ The mineral deposits in the Peruvian mountains were ^miliar to Steno from de Acosta^s
Historia Natural y Moral de Las Indias (Seuilla, 1590), iv, iv-v, and from de RosnePs Le
Mercure IndieHy ou Le Tresor des Indes (Paris, 1667), Premiere Partie, Livre Premier, I-III.
Maar, op, cit,y Vol. II, p. 337.

' The belief that iron would <' grow ^ or replace itself in process of time, probably arose
from finding limonite upon the tools mentioned in the text See above, p. 232, note 2.

THE PRODROMUS 237

CONCERNING THE CRYSTAL

As regards the formation of crystal, I would not venture to
declare in what manner its first shape is produced ; this at any
rate is beyond dispute, that the things which it has been my
lot to read in other writers concerning this subject are not to
the point ; for neither irradiations, nor a shape of the particles
resembling the shape of the whole, nor the perfection of the
hexagonal form^ and the assembling of the parts about a com-
mon centre, nor other things of this kind, accord with fact ; as
will be clear from various propositions which I shall bring
forward, proved elsewhere by conclusive experiments. But
that no room may be left for doubt, it is well to explain before-
hand the terms which I employ in naming the parts of a
crystal.

A crystal consists of two hexagonal pyramids and an inter-
mediate prism likewise hexagonal. I call those angles the
terminal solid angles which form the apexes of the pyramids,
but those angles the intermediate solid angles which are formed
by the union of the pyramids with the prism. In the same way
P. M. I call the planes of the pyramids terminal planes^ and the
planes of the prism the intermediate planes. The plane of the
base is the section perpendicular to all the intermediate planes;
a plane of the axis is a section in which lies the axis of the
crystal, which consists of the axes of the pyramids and the axis
of the prism.

The place where the first hardening of a crystal begins,
whether it be between a fluid and a fluid, or between a fluid
and a solid, or even in a fluid itself, may remain in doubt ; but
the place in which the crystal grows after it has already begun
to form, is a solid in that part where the crystal is supported on
it, jvhether the place be a stone or another crystal already
formed. The remaining portion is fluid, if you except the
obstructions which can present themselves to it from the
unevenness of the rock or even from other crystals already
formed. I would not venture to affirm whether the surround-
ing fluid is aqueous ; and it matters not what is said about the

' By crystal Steno meant rock crystal, which is the mineral quartz and has a hexagonal
form.

238 NICOLAUS STENO

water enclosed within crystals, since it is certain that air
together with water is contained therein, and that many crys-
tals are found which enclose air alone. But if the crystal had
indeed grown in an aqueous fluid, all the spaces enclosed on
every side would be filled with water, ^ since it is an undisputed
fact that water kept in that way never vanishes in any number
of centuries.

The cavities of the rocks, formed in different ways, as has
been said above, afford this place for crystals, and the fact that
entire hills consist of earthy substance packed with crystals, is
no disproof, seeing that in the vicinity of the same hills are
found mountains of rock suited to the formation of cr5rstals.
P. ». And in those hills of earthy matter, large unburied rocks are
pulled out which have been rent from neighboring mountains,
and some of these show fissures filled with the material of
marble, precisely as the fissures of strata in mountains of rock
are filled. The same cause, moreover, which huried upon the
hills the fragments of strata rent from the neighboring moun-
tains, can likewise have sown over them broadcast the crystals
which had been shaken out from cavities of the same strata.

The following propositions will show what can be deter-
mined concerning the place of the crystal to which new crystal-
line matter is being added :

I

A crystal grows while new crystalline matter is being added
to the external planes of the crystal already formed. No room
at all is here left for the belief of those who affirm that crystals
grow, plantlike, by nourishment, and that they draw their
nourishment on the side where they are attached to the matrix,
and that the particles thus received from the fluid of the rock,
and transmitted into the fluid of the crystal, are inwardly added
to the particles of the crystal.

II

This new crystalline matter is not added to all the planes
but, for the most part, to the planes of the apex only, or to the
terminal planes, with the result :

^ This would not necessarily follow.

THE PRODROMUS 239

1. That the intermediate planes, or the quadrilateral planes,
are formed by the bases of the terminal planes, and hence the in-
termediate planes are larger in some crystals, smaller in others,
and wholly wanting in still others.

2. That the intermediate planes are almost always striated,
while the terminal planes retain traces of the matter added to
them.

Ill

P. 40. The crystalline matter is not added to all the terminal planes
at the same time, nor in the same amount. Hence it comes to
pass:

1. That the axis of the pyramids does not always continue
the same straight line with the axis of the prism.

2. That the terminal faces are rarely of a size, whence fol-
lows an inequality of the intermediate planes.

3. That the terminal faces are not always triangular, just as
all the intermediate planes are not always quadrilateral.

4. That the terminal solid angle is broken up into several
solid angles, this being the case frequently also with the solid
intermediate angles.

IV

An entire plane is not always covered by crystalline matter,
but exposed places are left sometimes toward the angles, some-
times toward the sides, and sometimes in the centre of the
plane. Hence it happens :

1. That the same plane, commonly so-called, does not have
all its parts located in the same plane, but in different planes
extending above it in different ways.

2. That a plane, commonly so-called, in many places is seen
to be not a plane but a protuberance.

3. That in the intermediate planes inequalities rise like the
steps of stairs.

The crystalline matter added to planes upon the same planes
is spread out by the enveloping fluid, and gradually hardens,
with the result:

I . That the surface of the crystal comes forth the smoother
the more slowly the added matter has hardened, and is left

240 NICOLAUS STENO

wholly rough if the matter has hardened before it has spread
sufficiently,
p. 41. 2. That the manner in which the crystalline matter is added
to the crystal can be distinguished, since where it has hardened
suddenly, it reveals a surface full of small elevations like vari-
olar postules, as it were, just as small drops of oily fluid are
wont to float upon an aqueous fluid ; sometimes it shows also
trilateral and depressed pyramids, if it has hardened somewhat
more slowly. The tortuous fringes of the descending matter
show now the place to which the fluid matter was being added,
now the place toward which it was being advanced, now the
arrangement of the matter added, that is, which came first, and
which last. And in this way certain roughnesses always ap-
pear in the crystals of mountains, nor have I ever seen a crystal
whose still unbroken surfaces possess the lustre which the rent
sides of the same crystal show after it has been broken, how-
ever prolix writers on subjects relating to nature become in
extolling the lustre of the crystal which is extracted from the
mountains.

3. That certain intruding solid bodies are enclosed within
the crystal itself, as if they had been coated with a sort of glue,
in case the crystals did not yet present a hardened surface.

4. That the crystalline matter sometimes seems to flow
down over neighboring planes.

5. That when certain small areas on those planes have been
left without added crystalline matter, new crystalline matter
approaches, and, spreading over the areas, forms cavities there,
sometimes producing several layers; sometimes, again, enclos-
ing a part of the external fluid, which in some instances is
nothing but air, in others water and air.

P. 4a. The external fluid receives crystalline matter from the sub-
stance of the harder stratum, with the result :

1. That rocks of a different kind, emitting a different fluid,
give rise to crystals of a different hue.

2. That in the same place sometimes the first, sometimes
the last, crystals are the darker: but in the same crystal the
parts first hardened are sometimes darker than the parts last
hardened.

THE PRODROMUS 241

3. That when oysters, mussels, and other bodies have de-
composed within the earth, the cavities are filled with crystals.

The movement of the crystalline matter toward a point
where the planes of the crystal already formed are fixed, does
not arise from some common cause of motion in the surround-
ing fluid, but varies in any given crystal ; so that in reality it
depends upon the movement of the tenuous fluid flowing from
the crystal already formed, and the result is:

1. That in the same place crystalline matter is added to
planes which face the horizon from different angles.

2. That in the same fluid crystals of different shapes are
produced. Whether the fluid is that by the aid of which re-
fraction is caused, or there is still some fluid different from it,
I leave to wiser minds to study.

That the efficiency of a penetrating fluid is certainly great,
is illustrated by the row of iron filings which rise about the
poles ^ of a magnet, not only when the filings are in direct con-
tact with the magnet but also when they are separated from
the magnet by an intervening sheet of paper. When, for ex-
ample, the magnet is moved in various ways below the paper,
P. 48. while one end remains at rest, filings of this kind describe on
the paper all the arcs which can be drawn within a hemisphere.
Now all advance from place to place like armed soldiers ; now,
deflected by the approach of another magnet, they form an arch
just as if the individual parts of the filings had been glued to-
gether and had united into a solid body.^

^ Poros in the original edition is an obvious error for polos,

^ This experiment with the magnet was, no doubt, a scholastic commonplace. A curious
analogue to Steno's illustration may be found in Robert Boyle's The Effects of Languid
Motion Considered (edition of P. Shaw, London, 1725), Vol. I, pp. 477, 478 :

** The load-stone is acknowledged to act by the emission of insensible particles. For tho'
iron and steel be solid bodies, and magnetic effluvia corpuscles so very minute, as readily to
get in at the pores even of glass itself ; yet entring the steel in swarms, they may operate so
violently on it, as to attract above fifty times the weight of the magnet. For to these I rather
ascribe magnetical attraction and suspension, than to the pressure of the ambient air ; because
I have found on trial, that such a pressure is not absolutely necessary to magnetical operations.

^' And ^rther, as to the power of magnetical effluvia upon iron, I took filings of iron fresh
made, that the virtue might not be diminished by rust, and having laid them in a little heap
upon paper held level, I applied to the lower side of it, just beneath the heap, the pole of a
vigorous load-stone, whose emissions diffusing themselves thro^ the metal, manifestly alterM

242 NICOLAUS STENO

In a similar way I should suppose that by the help of a per-
meating fluid those minute drops mutually cohere which have
formed in a receiver from the material forced out of a retort. At
first they cling together on the inside of the upper part of the
receiver, but later, when a number of drops have come together
in the upper part of the receiver, they fall down and form glob-
ular masses which sometimes cling, with their extremities, to
the sides of the receiver, and sometimes join other filaments.
Filaments of this kind, which I have sometimes noticed in
the humor of the eye, I should believe to consist of globular
masses and to have been formed in a similar way, and so, too,
should I believe filaments and branches to have been produced
in the fluid by accretion from without.

But however the case may stand concerning these things,
in the growth of a crystal, we must take into account two
movements: one, the movement whereby it is brought to
pass that crystalline matter is added to certain places of the
crystal and not to others — a movement which I fancy must be
attributed to the attenuated permeating fluid, and is to be il-
lustrated by the example of the magnet which I have given ; the
other the movement whereby the new crystalline matter added
to the crystal is spread forth over the plane — and this movement
must be derived from the surrounding fluid, just as, when the
iron filings have risen up above the magnet, through the move-
P. 44. ment of the air, whatever is struck off from one filing is added
to another. To this movement of the surrounding fluid I should
attribute the fact that not only in a crystal, but also in many
other angular bodies, any given opposite planes are parallel.

From the arguments presented it might be possible to prove
that the efficient cause of the crystal is not extreme cold ; that
it is not ashes only, burned out by the force of fire, which turn
into glass ; that the force of fire alone is not the producer of
glass ; that not all crystals were produced in the beginning of
things, but that they are even now being produced from day to
day ; that it is not a task beyond man's power to disclose the

their appearance, and produced many erect aggregates of filings, placed one above another,
like little needles : and as these needles stood erected upon the fiat paper, so they would run
to and fro, according as the load-stone, which was held underneath, moved one way or the
other ; and as soon as that was taken away, all this little stand of pikes would fall again into a
confused heap.^^

THE PRODROMUS 243

formation of glass without the agency of fire, provided one
undertake a careful analysis of the rocks in whose cavities the
best crystals are formed. For it is certain that, just as a crystal
has formed from a fluid, so that same crystal can be dissolved into
a fluid, provided one know how to imitate the real menstruum ^ of
Nature. And it is no disproof that certain solid bodies, when
once the dissolving fluid, or their menstruum, has been taken
away, can be no further disintegrated by the same or a similar
solvent; for this occurs in bodies from which the entire men-
struum is freed by the force of fire. But the crystal, and
all angular bodies which form in the midst of a solvent fluid,
or in the midst of a menstruum, can never come out so pure
but that some particles of the menstruum are left within the
particles of the angular body. And upon this fact depends the
main cause of variation whereby crystal differs from glass not
P 46. only in refraction but also in other properties, since in glass no
parts of the dissolving fluid are present, inasmuch as they have
been driven forth by the violence of fire. For the fluid, in
which the crystal is formed, bears the same relation to the
crystal that ordinary water bears to salts; this could easily be
proved by setting forth the characteristics which the formation
of salts holds in common with the formation of crystal.

But since I should be wandering too far from my subject if I
should allude to all these things here, I shall mention but one
example, which seemed exceedingly beautiful to me. In various
places within the same stone the receding layers were filled with
crystals, of which some were watery, others very clear, some
white, many amethystine, mingled together without any blend-
ing of hues ; exactly as experiments with salts made here show
that vitriol and alum, dissolved in the same water, after a part
of the water has been taken up, have each formed by them-
selves without any mixing of parts.

^ The term menstruum^ used by Steno, was commonly employed by the alchemists and
physicists to denote a solvent fluid. Compare Littr^, Dictianaire <U la Langue Franqaise^ s,v.
menstrue : '' Terme de chimie. Liqueur propre \ dissoudre les corps solides. L^eau rdgale
est le menstrue de Tor (aqua regid). On dit aujourd'hui de pr^f^rence dissolvant.^

Excellent examples of this usage can be found in Robert Boyle^s works ; compare, e.g.^
Experiments and Observations upon Colours (edition of Shaw, Vol. II, p. 96) : " That gold,
dissolvM in Aqua regia, communicates its own colour to the menstruum, is a common obser-
vation ; but the solutions of mercury, in Aqua fortis^ are not generally observM to give any
notable tincture to the menstruum. See also New Oxford Dictionary^ s,v. menstruum.

244 NICOLAUS STENO

ANGULAR BODIES OF IRON

The angular bodies of iron which it has hitherto been my
fortune to see ^ reduce to three classes. Of these the first is
plane and, being thicker in the middle, gradually grows thinner
towards the margins, where it terminates in an edge sharp on
every side ; the second is bounded by twelve planes, the third
by twenty-four planes. Sometimes an angular body of the
second class is bounded by six planes, resembling two trilateral
P. 46. pyramids so joined along the bases that the angles of one base
bisect the sides of the other.

The second and third classes of angular bodies of iron agree
with crystals in the following particulars :

1. In the place of production ; since the place where iron is
formed is partly solid, partly fluid, and is a cavity in the rock.

2. As regards the place to which matter is added ; since in
iron also it is added not to all the planes, but to some only, and
not always to the whole of these, nor always at the same time,
but now to one, now to another ; now towards the margins, and
now towards the middle.

3. As regards the place from which the iron matter comes,
since this matter, also, seems to have flowed forth from the
pores of a more solid body.

4. As regards the manner in which the same matter is di-
rected toward the solid by the help of the permeating fluid, and
is spread forth and smoothed out upon the plane by the move-
ment of the surrounding fluid.

Iron and crystal differ in matter and form, because the matter
of the crystal is translucent, while the matter of iron is opaque.
The form of the crystal is bounded by eighteen planes, of which
the twelve terminal are brilliant, while the six intermediate are
striated. In the second class of iron, however, twelve planes
may be counted, of which six are terminal and striated, the
other six intermediate and brilliant ; and in the third class of
P. 47. iron twenty-four planes may be counted, of which the six ter-
minal are striated, and the intermediate eighteen brilliant Be-
tween the terminal striated planes there sometimes lie six other

^ Steno refers to crystals of hematite from the mines on the island of Elba.

THE PRODROMUS 245

glistening planes resembling the truncated sides of triangular
pyramids.

It seemed to me worthy of notice that by truncating a cube
at the very extremity the entire number of planes in the third
kind of angular bodies of iron can be shown; for it has six
pentagonal planes which coincide with the planes of the cube,
and which, at the four angles,^ bisect the individual sides of the
cube s planes. All the remaining planes are found at the cube's
angles when they are truncated in a certain way.

In the angular bodies of iron there is also another thing
equally surprising. In the second class of angular bodies of
iron the terminal planes, which are striated and five-sided, are in
process of time changed to three sides, while intermediate planes,
which are three-sided and brilliant, pass into five-sided with two
right angles adjacent to each other.^ Between two five-sided
planes, however, where their right angles are adjacent, a pair of
triangles, or two three-sided planes, are formed, likewise brilliant,
whose bases coincide with the perpendicular side of the five-
sided planes ; so that the second class of iron is thus changed
into the third.

That in this same way a body of twenty-four planes is formed
from a body of twelve, I am convinced for the following
P. 4S. reasons : (i) Because in the same mass of iron bodies almost
all the thinner bodies have only twelve planes, while the thicker
ones have twenty-four. (2) Because in certain bodies of twelve
planes are seen the beginnings of triangular planes which are
accessory and which, if continued, form a body of twenty-four
planes.

In triangular planes I have sometimes noticed a smoothness
so perfect that not the slightest uneven ness was apparent to the
eye, — something which it has never yet been my lot to see in
any crystal.^ In other instances I have seen smaller curved
planes piled above larger, of which the higher were, for the
most part, nearest the triangular apex, so that one may there-
fore question whether the five-sided planes are not formed by

^ The polyhedral angles. Steno is apparently referring to the relation of the rhombohe-
dron to the cube.

* Steno evidently thought that the various modifications of hematite resulted from an
evolution in time of new crystal forms .

• Quartz or rock crystal.

246 NICOLAUS STENO

the bases of triangular planes, since traces of striae appear in
them parallel to the bases.

That in the case of copper, angular bodies are formed in the
same way that has been mentioned in the case of the crystal
and iron, is inferred from those bits of copper which you ^ pre-
serve among the curiosities of nature,^ but since the abundance
of the matter has filled all the interstices of the bodies, it is
difficult to ascertain the original form of the bodies. And pre-
cisely the same is true of the angular bodies of silver sent to
you from Germany.

CONCERNING THE DIAMOND

Concerning the diamond, the same thing is inferred touching
the place and manner of production which is inferred from the
crystal, namely:

1 . That diamonds have been produced in a fluid enclosed in
P. 48. the cavities of rocks, although a distinguished writer on India

attempts to prove that diamonds are again produced in a certain
period of years, in the earth from which they have once been
dug.'

2. That they have been produced from a fluid by the
accretion of diamond matter.

3. That in their production the workings of both the at-
tenuated permeating fluid and the surrounding fluid must be
taken into account.

For the rest, as regards the form of diamonds, it varies
greatly, since some are bounded by eight planes, others by
nine,* others by eighteen, others by twenty-four planes; and
among these most of the planes were striated, while some were
also smooth. Although some diamonds might be angular,
they nevertheless could have some surfaces curved rather than
plane.

1 Ferdinand II. See p. 205.

' Steno refers to the collection in the Pitti Palace. See p. 182.

« Maar [op, cit,y Vol. II, p. 338) observes that Steno may have had in mind P. de RosnePs
Le Mercure Indien (Paris, 1667), SeconcU parte^ livre premier^ Chapter II, p. 12 : " Monardes
en son livre . . . remarque que les grands diamants prennent d^ordinaire leur naissance de la
partie inferieure de la mine, et que les petits prennent la leur de la partie superieure.^^

^ Not a regular form of diamond but doubtless due to the disappearance of certain, fiaioes.

THE PRODROMUS 247

CONCERNING MARCASITES

The substance of marcasites assumes divers forms, for
sometimes it incrusts the surface of a place, sometimes it
is condensed into bodies of many planes, sometimes it forms
rectangular parallelopipeds ^ which, after the usual mode of
speech, we shall call cubes, although regularity of all the planes
is found in but a few.

Since I have had the opportunity to note various matters con-
cerning the cubes of marcasites, both the cubes themselves and
the place where they are found, I shall speak concerning those
matters only; but their formation, nevertheless, differs from
the formation of a crystal :

1. In time ; since the cubes of marcasites were formed before
^- 5o. the formation of the strata in which they are contained, whereas

crystals hardened after the formation of the strata.

2. In place of production ; for a crystal, at least while it was
forming, was resting upon a solid body and so was contained
partly in a solid place, partly in a fluid, while the cubes of the
marcasites seem to have formed between two fluids, since there
are no traces, even in the larger cubes, of cohesion with another
body; although small cubes are frequently found which, while
growing, adhere to one another in the surface of the fluid.
Moreover we are taught by the weighty proofs of the great
Galileo ^ that heavier substances of this kind can cling together
on the surface of a fluid while one of their surfaces is in im-
mediate contact with an overlying and lighter fluid of another
kind. That one of the fluids referred to was aqueous, is shown
by the matter of the stratum which results from the same fluid.

3. In the manner and place of accretion ; for the matter of
the marcasite is added to all the planes of the cubes in a manner
different from that which we have indicated in the case of
crystals. This fact is clearly shown by the uniformity of all the
surfaces of the cubes which I have myself cut from rocks; all
the planes of these had striae parallel to two sides, in such

* For Steno^s use of the word marcasites^ see p. 225, note i .

* The treatise of Galileo (i 564-1642) to which Steno refers is entitled Discorso al Serenis-
^mo Don Costmo //, Gran Duca di Toscana^ Intorno aUe Cose che Stanno in Su VAcqua O
^he in Quella Si Muovono, Cf. Le Opere dU Galileo Galilei^ Edizione NdiionaUy Firenze,
Vol. IV, 1894, pp. 63-141.

248 NICOLAUS STENO

a way indeed that the striae in opposite planes ran along in the
same direction, while planes adjacent to each other showed a
different direction of the striae. From the direction of the
striae it follows that the surrounding fluid was directed about
every cube by a threefold movement.^ Of these movements
P. 51. one was perpendicular to the horizon ; the remaining two,
parallel to the horizon, were perpendicular in relation to each
other. And it is not difficult to account for this threefold
movement ; for while the fluid is trying to withdraw from the
earth's centre, that direct movement is checked by the base of
the cube, with the result that the fluid is deflected toward the
narrower sides, inasmuch as the force of the ascending fluid is
stronger along the wider sides and so allows no approach in
that quarter ; and in this way two pairs of planes are marked
out by the traces of the striae. The third pair of planes re-
ceives its striae from that part of the fluid which passes between
the cube and the fluid rebounding from the base of the cube.

4. In perfection of form ; for in crystals scarcely a single one
is found in whose form something is not lacking. Cubes of
marcasites, however, rarely have a missing part; and the ex-
planation is not difficult. For, since all the solid angles in the
crystal, except the terminal angles, are obtuse, and the crystal-
line matter is added little by little to their separate planes, any
given plane remains imperfect, if the adjacent planes change
their shape, in just the degree that more substance is added to
that one alone. Since in cubes of marcasites, however, all the
solid angles are right angles, even if new matter be added to
one plane only, that same plane always retains the same dimen-
sion, provided the adjacent planes do not change their form.

Various other things may be noted in the cubes of marca-
sites, such as cubes enclosed in cubes ; the transparent matter ^
P. 52. enveloped in the substance of the marcasite which encloses
another marcasite; and other matters of this kind, which I
keep for the Dissertation itself.

There are also angular bodies which are broken up into

^ Steno was probably the first to observe that the cube surfaces of pyrite are commonly
striated parallel to three intersecting edges.
* Not clear, because pyrite is opaque.

THE PRODROMUS 249

layers, just as rhomboidal selenites are rhomboid bodies which
are broken up into other rhomboidal bodies.^ And there are
various other bodies which, although differing from the crystal
in many respects, still all agree in this, that they were formed
in a fluid and from a fluid. This is true also of talc, the most
famous among chemical substances; so that they are by no
means mistaken who believe that the solid body of talc can be
resolved into a fluid body, seeing it is beyond cavil that talc
was formed from a fluid. But there is no doubt that they are
as far as possible astray from the truth who strive to wrench
this token from it by means of fire's violence ; for talc, accus-
tomed to kindlier treatment at Nature's hands, scorning so
great barbarity in lovers of beauty, by way of revenge yields to
the fire-god that function of self-destruction which it keeps
closed within itself.^

If a careful investigation of angular bodies should be begun,
touching not only their composition but also their decomposi-
tion, we should soon gain a sure knowledge concerning the
diversity of the motion by which the particles of both the atten-
uated fluid and the surrounding fluid are driven on ; and this
branch of physics is as essential to all for a true understanding
of the workings of Nature as few they be that pursue it.

SHELLS OF MOLLUSKS

Among solids naturally enclosed in a solid none occurs more

P. M. commonly, or occasions greater doubt, than the shells of mol-

lusks. Concerning these, therefore, I shall speak at somewhat

* The reference appears to be to the cleavage of selenite.

2 Talc was "famous" in alchemy. Compare White, The Hermetic and Alchemical Writ-
ings of Paracelsus^ Vol. II, London, 1894, p. 383 {A Short Lexicon of Alchemy) :

** The older alchemists have often made reference to what they term an Oil of Talc, to
which they have attributed so many virtues that subsequently chemists have exerted all their
power to compose it. They have calcined, purified, and sublimed the matter in question, but
have met with no success. The reason is that the term was used allegorically, and that the
reference was to the Oil of the Philosophers, the elixir at the white."

See also Robert Boyle, The Usefulness of Philosophy (edition of P. Shaw, London, 1725,
Vol. I, p. 67) :

" But a credible person, disciple to Cornelius Drebell, couM do more than this. He assured
me, he had a way of building furnaces, wherein he, by the single force of fire, made Venetian
talc flow ; which I confess myself unable to do by the fire of a glass-house." " Talc, usually
employ^ in cosmetics, is of so very difficult calcination, that eminent chymists have lookM
on all calces of talcs as counterfeit." Ibid.^ p. 158.

2 so NICOLAUS STENO

greater length, considering first shells taken from the sea, and
then those which are dug from mountains.

Shells of every kind which at one time had a living creature
enclosed in them, reveal to our perceptions the following
characteristics :

1. The entire shells are themselves resolved into subdivi-
sions, the subdivisions, again, are divided into filaments, and
these filaments are reduced to two kinds differing from each
other in color, composition, and place.

2. In the subdivisions of the shell the upper and lower sur-
faces are nothing but the ends of filaments, while the surface
of the edge is the sides of those same filaments located in the
edge of the subdivision.

3. The inner surface of the shell itself is identical with the
inner surface of the inmost or largest subdivision, while the
outer surface is composed of the outer surface of the smallest
subdivision, and of the surface of all the edges of the interme-
diate subdivisions.

Regarding the manner in which shells on animals are
formed, the following points can be clearly shown:

1. That the substance of the filaments is like the perspira-
tion of animals, in that it is the fluid exuded through the outer
surface of the animal.

2. That the form of the filaments can be produced in two
p. 64. ways : either in the animal's very pores, through which they

are exuded, or the surface of the growing animal, having be-
come larger than the surface of the subdivisions already hard-
ened, separates from it, and so partly draws the viscous fluid
contained between the two surfaces into filaments (a process
which is common to viscous fluids), and partly adds to it by the
exudation of fresh fluid, because no other substance can enter
between the two surfaces.

3. That the difference of the filaments depends upon a dif-
ference of the pores by which the surface of the animal is per-
forated, and upon a difference of the substance which is exuded
through the pores ; for animals of this kind possess a twofold
substance in their surface, of which the one is harder, the other

THE PRODRQMtJS . 251

• • • >f •

softer, and both fibrous: a careful exaira'natian of these is as
illuminating as an investigation of bones. •'/'//'.

4. That all the subdivisions, if you exclude the otitermos.t or
smallest, were produced between the outer shell and the tcJcJy'
of the animal itself, and so have received their forms, not froni
themselves, but from their place; the result of this is that in
the case of oysters the motion of the animal, and the amount
of substance, often give rise to some diversity of form. With
regard to the outermost shell there can be a doubt whether the
surrounding fluid has touched the outer surface or whether it
has been protected by a membrane. I should, however, believe
that the last view alone is correct : ( i ) Because the filaments
of all the rest of the subdivisions were untouched by the sur-
^* 65. rounding fluid at the time when they formed. (2) Because in
prickly cockles we see that something like a membrane or skin
covers the outside of the shells. But the inquiry concerns
something almost outside the realm of vision, and it can be
said that the filaments of the first subdivision had already hard-
ened within the egg, since experimental knowledge proves that
oysters and other testacea spring from eggs, not from decaying
matter.^

From what has been said it is easy to explain :
I. All the diversity of hues and of spines which arouse the
wonderment of many in the case of shells not only from our
own land, but also from other lands ; for it has no other origin
than the edge of the animal enclosed in the shell. This edge,
gradually growing and expanding from something exceedingly
small, leaves its impress upon each margin of the subdivisions,
since these margins either form from the fluid which is exuded
from the outer edge of the animal, or are themselves the
x:reature's outer edges which, like the teeth of the shark, grow

* Theories of spontaneous generation were common among the Greek philosophers ; as,

«^. Anaximander, in Diels, Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (Zweite Auflage, Berlin, 1906), p. 17,

^nd especially Aristotle, de Animalium Historia^ V. i, 3, and de Generatione Animalium^ I.

33 ; III. 9, 10, and 1 1. Steno's friends were the first to combat them scientifically ; so Harvey,

•Extrcitationes de Generatione Animalium (London, 165 1) ; Francesco Redi, Esperieme

iniorno aUa Generazione degP Insetti (Florence, 1668) ; Swammerdam, Historia Insectorum

Generalis (Utrecht, 1669). See also Huxley, Address before the British Association^ 1870,

m Lay Sermons^ Addresses, and Reviews (New York, 1877), pp. 345-378.

•

252 .^ JjJCOtAUS STENO

, »• • • •

up anew,^pei'hajS$,*-ln the place of the earlier edge and, like
those. ^hjfe*+^eth, are gradually thrust outward.
.. ; '^. Y'he formation of pearls, not only of those which, clinging

r\\V'.tVthe shells, have a form not quite round, but also of those
which, after the pores in the surface of the animal have closed,
acquire a round form within the pores themselves. For
between the integuments of pearls and the subdivisions of
shell of pearl -bearing mollusks there is merely this difference,
that the filaments of the shells are located in the same plane,
as it were, while the integuments of pearls have their filaments

P. 56. distributed over a spherical surface.

A happy instance of this was furnished by a pearl which,
with others, I broke at your command. This pearl, although
white without, enclosed within it a black body resembling a
grain of pepper in both color and size ; in that black body the
position of the filaments tending toward the centre was very
clear, and the arrangements or spheres of the same filaments
could be distinguished. At the same time I saw:

1. That the excrescences on various pearls are nothing else
than very small pearls enclosed by the same common crusts.

2. That many pearls of yellowish hue are imbued with a
yellow color not only in the outermost surface of the sphere,
but in all the inner spheres ; so that it is thus no longer possi-
ble to doubt that the yellow color must be attributed to the
changing fluids of the animal, and that he who seeks to wash
it clear, washes an Ethiopian ; ^ unless the color has either been
acquired, as, for instance, the tint gained from being worn at
the throat, or else was yellow in the outermost sphere only, as
might be the case if, for instance, the fluids of the animal had
changed when the inner spheres were being formed.

In view of these facts the mistake is apparent of those who,
without a knowledge of Nature, cleverly attempt the imitation
of pearls ; for hardly any one could assay that feat successfully

^ The allusion is to a feble of i£sop, who flourished about the middle of the sixth century,
B.C. (Halm, Fiibulae Aesopicae^ Leipzig, 1875, XIII) : * A man bought an ^Ethiopian believ-
ing his color to be what it was through the neglect of his former owner. Upon taking him
home, the new owner applied to him soaps of aU kinds and tried to whiten him with baths of
every description. But he was unable to change the color and was ready to fall sick from his
toil. Characteristics remain what they were.*

THE PRODROMUS 253

unless another Lucullus should fill his aquaria^ with pearl-
bearing mollusks, and either seek in the animals themselves the
methods of increasing them, or learn thence the difficulty of
imitating the works of Nature. I would not deny that one can
p. 57. form, artificially, globular masses consisting of various integu-
ments, but to arrange these integuments from a succession of
filaments and unite them according to a system, upon which the
natural lustre of pearls depends, this I should consider indeed
most difficult.

The shells which lie buried in the earth are reduced to three
classes.

The first class consists of those which are as like the shells
just described as an egg is to an egg; since both the shells
themselves are resolved into subdivisions, and the subdivisions
into filaments ; and there is the same difference and position
of filaments. An examination of the shell itself proves that
these shells were parts of animals at one time living in a fluid,
even if marine testacea had never been seen, as will appear
from the example of bivalve mussels.

At the time when bivalve mussels were formed, the sub-
stance contained within the mussel,

1. Had a smooth surface pierced with countless pores, and

a twofold variation of pores.

2. Had a substance pliable and less hard than the shell

itself.

3. Was in communication on the one side with the sur-

rounding matter, on the other had no communication
with it.

4. Gradually withdrew, from the side where communica-

tion with the outer matter was denied it, toward the
side where it had free communication with that same
matter.

^ The fish-ponds of Lucullus were famous in antiquity, but our sources do not indicate that
he stocked them with pearl-bearing oysters. Nor does Steno imply that he did so. The
bcus classicus is Pliny's Natural History ^ IX, 170 (54): * Lucullus cut away a mountain
near Naples at greater expense than it had cost him to build his villa. He let in the sea-
water, and for this reason Pompeius Magnus used to call him the Roman Xerxes. After the
death of Lucullus the fish were sold for four thousand sestertia ' (more than $150,000). With
this may be compared Pliny, N, H.y VIII, 211 (52) and Plutarch, Lucullusy 39.

254 NICOLAUS STENO

P. 68. 5. Was able to open itself at times in proportion to the

size of the angle which the hinges of the shells allow.

6. Grew from a small to a large size.

.7. Transmitted through its own substance the matter of
which the subdivisions of shell were made.

As regards the outer matter surrounding mussek: (i) If
it was not wholly a fluid, at least its power of resistance was
less than the power of expansion inherent in the substance
within the shells. (2) It contained a fluid substance suited
to the formation of the filaments of the subdivisions of
shell.

All these conditions of both the inner and the outer place,
which are proved by arguments and drawings in the Disserta-
tion itself, fully show that there was an animal within the shells,
and a fluid without the shells.

The second class consists of those shells which are in other
respects like those just described, but differ from them in color
and weight. While some are lighter, others are heavier,
because the heavier shells have their pores filled with an
extraneous fluid, while the pores of the former have been
enlarged by the ejection of the lighter parts ; I add nothing fur-
ther in regard to them because they are nothing but the shells
of animals, either petrified or calcined.

The third class consists of shells which in form only are
similar to those just described, in other respects differing from
them completely; since neither subdivisions nor filaments,
much less differences of filaments, are found in them. Some
of these are filled with air; others, either black or yellow in
P. 59. color, with stone ; others with marble ; others with crystal ; and
still others with other matter. Thq formation of all of these
I account for in the following way.

When the penetrating force of fluids has dissolved the sub-
stance of a shell, the fluids have either been drained away by
the earth, leaving empty spaces in the shells (which I call shells
filled with air),^ or have been changed by the addition of new
matter and have filled the spaces in the shells with crystals or
marble or stone, according to the diversity of the matter. And

^ The Latin phrase is testas aereas ; porous shells are meant.

THE PRODROMUS 255

from this source that most beautiful kind of marble which is
called Nephiri^ has its origin, which is nothing else than a
deposit of the sea filled with shells of every description, in
which a stony substance takes the place of the decomposed
substance of the shells.

The limitation of my plan does not allow me to give an ex-
position of all the things which I have remarked worthy of
notice in the different kinds of shells dug from the earth;
wherefore, passing by other matters, I shall mention here only
the following :

1. A pearl-bearing mussel, found in Tuscany, in which the
pearl was clinging to the shell itself.

2. A part of an unusually large pinna in which, after the de-
composition of the byssus, the color of the byssus remained in
the earthy matter which had filled the shell.

3. There are shells of oysters of marvellous size in which
are found several oblong cavities eaten out by worms, quite

1 The term Nephiri is unintelligible. Neither nepheline nor nephrite, to which the word
bears closest resemblance, fulfils the requirements of a marine deposit. Maar^s note {Om
FasU Legemer^ p. 105) leaves the difficulty unsolved: " Vi har intetsteds kunnet finde nogen
Oplysning om Nephiri. Professor Heiberg, til hvem vi har henvendt os, antager det for en
Trykfejl for nephriti og formoder, at marmor nephrites er det, der nu hedder Breccia (Mar-
markonglomerat) . Hertil maa dog bemaerkes, at nefritisk Marmor naeppe indeholder noget,
der af Steno kunde antages for Muslingeforsteninger. Tozzetti {Reisen I, p. 127) omtaler
nefritisk Marmor fra Bygninger i Pisa, og angiver, at det i Virkeligheden er en Slags Ser-
pentine." See also Opera Philosophical Vol. II, p. 340.

It is more probable that Steno wrote Septarium, which was converted to Nephiri by a
printer^s error. The change is not difficult to account for palseographically. The final um
following a vowel was usually indicated by '^ ; .S" was taken for N ; ph was an error for //,
and / for a. Steno^s chirography was none too clear, as may be seen from the £cicsimile letter
inserted by Wichfeld, Erindringer om den Danske Videnskabsmand Niels Stensen, Dansk
historisk Tidsskrift, 3 Raekke, 4, opposite p. 108. That the error was not corrected in the
legenda^ p. 79, of the original edition cannot be urged against this conjecture, inasmuch as
many mistakes in the text escaped notice.

Septaria are thus described by Chamberlain and Salisbury (^A College Text-book of Geology ^
New York, 1909, p. 48) : " Concretions sometimes develop cracks within themselves, and
these may then be filled with mineral matter differing in composition or color from that of
the original concretions (Fig. 28). Concretions the cracks of which have been filled by
deposition fi-om solution, are called septaria. They are especially abundant in some of the
Cretaceous shales and clays. In not a few cases the filling of the clacks appears to have
wedged segments of the original concretion £eirther and farther apart, until the outer sur&ce
of the septarium is made up more largely of vein-matter than of the original concretion. The
development of concretions in rock is not commonly looked upon as metamorphism, but it is
reaUy a metamorphic change in the broadest sense of that term."

256 NICOLAUS STENO

like those which ^ a certain kind of mussel inhabits in the
rocks of Ancona, Naples, and Sicily. These cavities in the
p. 60. rocks, unless they were formed by insects building a nest out of
mud (a thing which I can scarcely believe, since the substance
of the middle of the rock, where no cavities are found, is identi-
cal with the substance of the rock containing the cavities, which
are all confined to the surfaces), must have been eaten out by
worms ; and this view is not only commended by the surface of
the cavity, but also proved by a body composed of rather thick
filaments which is found in many cavities, and which answers
to the cavity itself in size and shape. Surely, the cavities were
made neither by mussels nor around mussels, since testacea of
this kind lack the organs for gnawing, and no cavity corre-
sponds to the shape of the shells.^ Nor is it surprising that
rocks exposed to the sea afford a resting place, in their cavities,
for mussels' eggs which have been cast up by the sea, for I have
not yet seen any of those cavities lacking an evident exit. But
if one say that the cavities were made by a petrifying fluid
which became hard around certain bodies, some cavities would
have been found enveloped by that same substance on every
side, and lacking an exit.

4. A shell partly destroyed on the inside, where a marble in-
crustation covered by various balanoids had supplied the loss
of the substance eaten away ; so that it is possible to infer with
certainty that the shell had been left upon land by the sea, next
carried down into the sea ; again covered by a new deposit, and
abandoned by the sea.

5. Very small eggs and helical shells hardly visible except
with the aid of the microscope.

P. 61. 6. Pectens, helical shells, and bivalve mollusks not covered
with crystal but crystalline in all their substance.
7. Various tubes of sea worms.

^ The Florentine edition has quos: read quas.

The cavities, containing the thick filaments referred to by Steno, were probably made by
die Lithophagus (Lithodomus). This Lamellibranch, of the family Mytilidae, perforates shells
of the Lamellibranchs Melina, Ostrea, and Pectin, and produces a flask-shaped excavation.
See von Zittd, GrutuizUge der PalaoniologUy Dritte Auflage, i AbUilung (Mlinchen, 1910), p.
322 and fig. 632 c.

' The borer is a mussel ; cf. the preceding note.

THE PRODROMUS 257

OTHER PARTS OF ANIMALS

What has been said concerning shells must also be said con-
cerning other parts of animals, and animals themselves buried
in the earth. Here belong the teeth of sharks, the teeth of the
eagle-fish,^ the vertebrae of fishes, whole fish of every kind, the
crania, horns, teeth, femurs, and other bones of land animals ;
since all these are either wholly like true parts of animals, or
differ from them only in weight and color, or have nothing in
common with them except the outer shape alone.

A great difficulty is caused by the countless number of teeth
which every year are carried away from the island of Malta ; for
hardly a single ship touches there without bringing back with it
some proofs of that marvel. But I find no other answer to this
difficulty than :

1. That there are six hundred and more teeth to each shark,
and all the while the sharks live new teeth seem to be growing.

2. That the sea, driven by winds, is wont to thrust the bodies
in its path toward some one place and to heap them up there.

3. That sharks come in shoals and so the teeth of many
sharks can be left in the same place.

4. That in lumps of earth brought here from Malta,^ besides
• different teeth of different sharks, various mollusks are also

found, so that even if the number of teeth favors attributing
their production to the earth, yet the structure of these same
teeth, the abundance in each animal, the earth resembling the
bottom of the sea, and the other sea objects found in the same
place, all alike support the opposite view.

Others find great difficulty in the size of the femurs, crania,
and teeth, and other bones, which are dug from the earth. But
the objection, that an extraordinary size makes it necessary
to conclude the size to be beyond the powers of Nature, is not
of so great moment, seeing that :

* Steno^s phrase is piscis aquilae^ * eagle-fish.' The reference is to a family of rays known
scientifically as Myliobatidae and popularly as " eagle-rays," " devil-fishes," and ** sea-devils/'
The teeth are flat molars, adapted for crushing hard substances.

'Cf. p. 211.

2S8 NICOLAUS STENO

1. In our own time bodies of men of exceedingly tall stature
have been seen.

2. It is certain that men of unnatural size existed at one
time.^

3. The bones of other animals are often thought to be
human bones.

4. To ascribe to Nature the production of truly fibrous bones
is the same as saying that Nature can produce a man's hand
without the rest of the man.

There are those to whom the great length of time seems
to destroy the force of the remaining arguments, since the
recollection of no age affirms that floods rose to the place where
many marine objects are found to-day, if you exclude the
universal deluge, four thousand years, more or less, before our
time. Nor does it seem in accord with reason that a part of an
animal's body could withstand the ravages of so many years,
P. «8. since we see that the same bodies are often destroyed com-
pletely in the space of a few years. But this doubt is easily
answered, since the result depends wholly upon the diversity of
soil; for I have seen strata of a certain kind of clay which by
the thinness of their fluid decomposed all the bodies enclosed
within them. I have noticed many other sandy strata which
preserved whole all that was entrusted to them. And by this
test it might be possible to come to a knowledge of that fluid
which disintegrates solid bodies. But that which is certain,
that the formation of many mollusks which we find to-day must
be referred to times coincident with the universal deluge, is
sufficiently shown by the following argument.

It is certain that before the foundations of the city of Rome
were laid, the city of Volterra was already powerful. But in
the exceedingly large stones which are found in certain places
(the remains of the oldest walls) at Volterra, shells of every kind
are found,^ and not so very long ago there was hewn from the

^ The belief in the existence of giants, based upon the finding of fossil bones of beasts, was
widespread. See E. B. Tylor, Researches into the Early History of Mankind (London,
1865), pp. 314-317 ; Primitive Culture, 4th edition (London, 1903), Vol. I, p. 387.

* The courses of massive masonry within the impressive Porta all' Arco are of a yellow
conchiliferous sandstone, called panchina. See Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria
(London, 1878), Vol. II, p. 144.

THE PRODROMUS 259

midst of the forum a stone packed full of striated shells ; hence
it is certain that the shells found to-day in the stones had
already been formed at the time when the walls of Volterra
were being built.

And in order that no one may say that the shells only have
turned into stone, or that having been enclosed within the
stone they have suffered no destruction from the tooth of time,
we may remark that the whole hill upon which the most an-
cient of Etruscan cities is built, rises from the deposits of the
sea, placed one above the other, and parallel to the horizon;
and in these deposits many strata, not of stone, abound in
1*. 64. mollusks that are real and have suffered no change at all ; so
it is possible to affirm that the unchanged shells which we
dig from them to-day were formed three thousand and more
years ago. From the founding of Rome to our own times, we
reckon two thousand four hundred and twenty years and more ;
who will not grant that many ages elapsed from the time the
first men transferred their homes to Volterra until it grew to
the flourishing size it possessed at the time of the founding of
Rome ? And if to these centuries we add the time which inter-
vened between the first sedimentary deposit of the hill of
Volterra, and the time when that same hill was left by the sea
and strangers flocked to it, we shall easily go back to the very
times of the universal deluge.

The same authority of history forbids our doubting that those
exceedingly large bones which are dug from the fields of Arezzo,
have withstood the ravage of nineteen hundred years ; for it is
certain :

1. That the skulls of the pack-animals which are found there
do not belong to animals of this climate, as neither do the huge
femurs, and very long scapulae, which are found in the same
place.

2. It is certain that Hannibal crossed thither before he
fought with the Romans at the Trasumene Lake.

3. It is certain that there were in his army African pack-
, animals and turret-bearing elephants of huge size.

4. It is certain that while he was coming down from the
P. 65. mountains of Fiesole a large part of the animals kept for carry-

26o NICOLAUS STENO

ing packs perished in the marshy places from the excessive
floods.^

5. It is certain that the place whence are dug the bones
under discussion, was heaped up from various strata which are
full of stones rolled down by the force of torrents from the
surrounding mountains; so that the manifest agreement in all
details can no longer remain hidden from one who compares the
character of the place and of the bones with the historical
record.

PLANTS

What has been said regarding animals and their parts holds
equally true of plants and the parts of plants, whether they are
dug from earthy strata or lie hidden within rocky substance;
for they either completely resemble actual plants and parts of
plants (this kind is found rather rarely), or they differ from ac-
tual plants only in color and in weight (this kind occurs more
frequently, sometimes burnt in charcoal, sometimes impregnated
in a petrifying fluid), or they correspond to actual plants in

1 Cuvier {Recherches sur Us Ossemens FossiUsy 4th edition, Vol. II, Paris, 1834, p. 17)
states that the skeleton of an elephant was found at Arezzo in 1663 :

<< C'est dans le val de Chiana, au territoire d' Arezzo, que le grand-due Ferdinand II, ce
g^n^reux protecteur des sciences, fit d^terrer un squelette entier en 1663, dont proviennent
encore, selon Targioni (Tozzeti), une partie des os conserves k Florence, et dont paraissent
avoir parl^ Stenon et Boccone."

Steno^s explanation is a naive attempt to account for the presence, in very great numbers,
of the fossil remains of elephants belonging to the Pleistocene period. Says Cuvier {^op, cii.^
p. 16) : "Quand on passe de I'Etat de TEglise en Toscane, en suivant le Tibre, le Clanis ou
Chiana et TArno, les os d^^l^phans deviennent de plus en plus nombreux. Le val de Chiana,
ie val d^Amo et les valines particuli^res qui y aboutissent, en contiennent d^^tonnantes
quantit^s/^

Further references are: Forsyth Major, Cottsiderazioni sulla Fauna dei Mammiferi
piiocenici e post-piiocenici della Toscana in Atti di Societd Toscana di Scienze Naturale in
Pisa, Vol. I (1875), PP- 7"-40» 223-245; III (1877), pp. 207-227; Mammalian Fauna of the
Val d'^Arno in The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, Vol. XJLl (1885),
pp. 1-8 ; Dep^ret, Evolution of Tertiary Mammals, and the Importance of Their Migrations
in The American Naturalist, Vol. XLII (1908), pp. 109-114, 166-170, 303-307.

It may be interesting to note, apropos of Steno^s " historical record," that both Livy and
Polybius agree that Hannibal had only one elephant by the time he reached Arezzo. According
to Eutropius (III. 8) and Polybius (III. 42), Hannibal entered Italy with thirty-seven
elephants. Polybius states (III. 74) that all except one perished from the extreme cold im-
mediately after the battle of the Trebia (218 B.C.), and Livy (XXI. 56) remarks that almost
all {prope omnis) were overcome. In the attempt to cross the Apennines, a detail of the
campaign which is not mentioned by Polybius and is a source of confusion in Livy, seven of
these succumbed (Livy, XXI. 58). And when Hannibal reached Arezzo in the early spring of
217 B.C. (XXII. 2), Livy represents him as riding the sole survivor.

THE PRODROMUS a6i

form only ; of this last kind there is a great abundance in vari-
ous places.

Regarding the first two classes there cannot be the least
doubt that they were at one time actual plants, since the struc-
ture of their very bodies compels this view, and the character of
the place whence they are dug does not oppose it They who
hold, in opposition, that the earth which had been carried over
into houses in process of time changed into wood, cannot affirm
this except of the surface of the earth enclosing the wood,
where the earth, having become dry in time, and turned to
dust, has brought to light the wood enclosed within it. Neither
do the metallic filaments found in the pores of the same wood
militate against our view, since I myself have drawn from the
earth a trunk attesting its plant nature by the knots of its
branches and by its bark, whose fissures had been filled with
B. «e. mineral matter. Hence, furthermore, it might throw no little
light upon the lore of minerals if an investigation were made
of the wood, and the place of the wood to determine what they
could have contributed to the formation of minerals. Under
the name of bitumen come many things which the channels of
the fibres and the ashes of the burnt portions prove to be noth-
ing but charcoal.

A greater difficulty is occasioned by the third class of plants,
or the forms of plants marked upon stones, since we find forms
of this kind in hoar-frost, in the mercury tree,^ in various vola-
tile salts, in a white substance^ soluble in water, which not only
forms in glass vessels on their inner surfaces but sometimes
rises from the middle of the vessel into the air. But to one
who duly weighs all considerations nothing will be found to be
inconsistent with the views expressed ; for the forms of plants
inscribed on stones are reducible to two classes. Some of
these forms are imprinted only on the surface of the clefts,
which I would readily acknowledge to have been produced with-
out an actual plant, although not without a fluid ; others appear
not only on the surface of the clefts but spread their branches
everywhither throughout the substance of the stone. Hence it
follows that at the time when a plant of the second type was

^ The metallic crystals produced by mercury in a solution containing silver.
^ Ammonium! chloride, sal ammoniac.

262 NICOLAUS STENO

being produced, whether this took place after the manner of
other plants, or in the fashion of the mercury tree, the substance
of the stone had not yet laid aside the character of a fluid ; this
fact, again, is further assured not only by the softer consistency
of the stone, but also by the angular bodies common in the den-
P. 67. drite of Elba, such as form only in a free fluid. But what need
is there of other proofs, when experience itself speaks ? I have
seen various moist places, not only those exposed to the sun,
but also underground, where, on account of water flowing by, a
rock growing to moss and other plants was being covered with
new moss of a different kind.

Hitherto I have reviewed the principal bodies whose place
of finding has for many afforded no clue to the place of their
production ; and at the same time I have hinted how, from that
which is perceived, a definite conclusion is formed in regard to
that which cannot be perceived.

THE DIFFERENT CHANGES WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN TUSCANY

In what way the present condition of any thing discloses the
past condition of the same thing, is above all other places
clearly manifest in Tuscany ; inequalities of surface observed in
its appearance to-day contain within themselves plain tokens of
different changes, and these I shall review in inverse order,
proceeding from the last to the first.

1. At one time the inclined plane A [PI. XI, fig. 20] was
in the same plane with the higher, horizontal plane B, and the
end of the same plane A thus raised, as also the end of the
higher, horizontal plane C, were continuous, whether the lower,
horizontal plane D was in the same plane with the higher hori-
zontal planes B, C, or another solid body existed there, support-
ing the exposed sides of the higher planes. Or, what is the
same thing, in the place where to-day rivers, swamps, sunken
plains, steeps, and planes inclined between sand hills are seen,

P. 68. all was once level, and at that time all the waters, both of rains
and of springs, were flooding that plain, or had opened for
themselves underground channels beneath it ; at any rate, there
were cavities under the upper strata.

2. At the time when the plane B, A, C [PK XI, fig. 21]

THE PRODROMUS 263

was being formed, and other planes under it, the entire plane
By Ay C, was covered with water; or, what is the same thing,
the sea was at one time raised above sand hills, however high.

3. Before the plane B, A, C [PI. XI, fig. 22] was formed,
the planes F, G, I [PL XI, fig. 23] had the same position
which they now hold; or, what is the same thing, before the
strata of the sand hills were ^ formed, deep valleys existed in the
same places.

4. At one time the inclined plane / [PI. XI, fig. 23] ap-
peared in the same plane with the horizontal planes F and G,
and either the exposed sides of the planes / and G were contin-
uous, or another solid existed there, supporting the exposed
sides when the planes were being formed ; or, what is the same
thing, where valleys are seen to-day between the plane sum-
mits of the highest mountains, there was at one time a single
continuous plane under which huge caverns had been formed
before the downfall of the upper strata.

5. When the plane F, G [PI. XI, figures 24 and 25] was
being formed, a watery fluid lay upon it ; or, what is the same
thing, the plane summits of the highest mountains were at one
time covered with water.

Six distinct aspects of Tuscany ^ we therefore recognize,
two when it was fluid, two when level and dry, two when it was
broken; and as I prove this fact concerning Tuscany by infer-
ence from many places examined by me, so do I affirm it with
reference to the entire earth, from the descriptions of different
places contributed by different writers. But in order that no
one may be alarmed by the novelty of my view, in a few words
I shall set forth the agreement of Nature with Scripture by
reviewing the chief difficulties which can be urged regarding
the different aspects of the earth.

In regard to the first aspect of the earth Scripture and
Nature agree in this, that all things were covered with water^;
how and when this aspect began, and how long it lasted,
Nature says not. Scripture relates. That there was a watery

* The alluvial deposits of the valley.

^ This summary takes up the figures in inverse order, figures 25, 24, etc.

• See Genesis^ i. 1-7.

264 NICOLAUS STENO

fluid, however, at a time when animals and plants were not
yet to be found, and that the fluid covered all things, is proved
by the strata of the higher mountains, free from all heteroge-
neous material. And the form of these strata bears witness
to the presence of a fluid, while the substance bears witness
to the absence of heterogeneous bodies. But the similarity
of matter and form in the strata of mountains which are dif-
ferent and distant from each other, proves that the fluid was
universal. But if one say that the solids of a different kind
contained in those strata were destroyed in course of time, he
will by no means be able to deny that in that case a marked
difference must have been noticed between the matter of the
stratum and the matter which percolated through the pores of
the stratum, filling up the spaces of the bodies which had been
destroyed. If, however, other strata which are filled with dif-
P. 70. ferent bodies are, in certain places, found above the strata of
the first fluid, from this fact nothing would follow excepting
that above the strata of the first fluid new strata were deposited
by another fluid, whose matter could likewise have refilled the
wastes of the strata left by the first fluid. Thus we must
always come back to the fact that at the time when those strata
of matter unmixed, and evident in all mountains, were being
formed, the rest of the strata did not yet exist, but that all
things were covered by a fluid free from plants and animals and
other solids. Now since no one can deny that these strata are
of a kind which could have been produced directly by the First
Cause, we recognize in them the evident agreement of Scripture
with Nature.

Concerning the time and manner of the second aspect of the
earth, which was a plane and dry. Nature is likewise silent.
Scripture speaks. As for the rest Nature, asserting that such
an aspect did at one time exist, is confirmed by Scripture, which
teaches us that the waters welling from a single source over-
flowed the whole earth.^

When the third aspect of the earth, which is determined to
have been rough, began, neither Scripture nor Nature makes
plain. Nature proves that the unevenness was great, while
Scripture makes mention of mountains ^ at the time, of the

^ See GetusiSy 2. 10-14. * See Qenesis, 7. 19-20. . -

THE PRODROMUS 265

flood. But when those mountains, of which Scripture in this
connection makes mention, were formed, whether they were
identical with mountains of the present day, whether at the
beginning of the deluge there was the same depth of valleys
P. 71. as there is to-day, or whether new breaks in the strata opened
new chasms to lower the surface of the rising waters, neither
Scripture nor Nature declares.

The fourth aspect, when all things were sea, seems to cause
more difficulty, although in truth nothing difficult is here pre-
sented. The formation of hills from the deposit of the sea bears
witness to the fact that the sea was higher than it is now, that
too not only in Tuscany but in very many places distant enough
from the sea, from which the waters flow toward the Mediter-
ranean ; nay, even in those places from which the waters flow
down into the ocean. Nature does not oppose Scripture in
determining how great that height of the sea was, seeing
that :

1. Definite traces of the sea remain in places raised several
hundreds of feet above the level of the sea.

2. It cannot be denied that as all the solids of the earth
were once, in the beginning of things, covered by a watery
fluid, so they could have been covered by a watery fluid a sec-
ond time, since the changing of the things of Nature is indeed
constant, but in Nature there is no reduction of anything to
nothing. But who has searched into the formation of the
innermost parts of the earth, so that he dare deny that huge
caverns may exist there, filled sometimes with a watery fluid,
sometimes with a fluid akin to air ?

3. It is wholly uncertain what the depth of valleys at the
beginning of the deluge was ; reason, however, may urge that
in the first ages of the world smaller cavities had been eaten
out by water and fire, and that in consequence not so deep
breaks of strata followed from this cause; while the highest

P. 72. mountains of which Scripture speaks were the highest of those
mountains which were in existence at that time, not of those
which we see to-day.

4. If the movement of a living being can bring it to pass
that places which have been overwhelmed with waters are
arbitrarily made dry, and are again overwhelmed with waters.

266 NICOLAUS STENO

why should we not voluntarily grant the same freedom and the
same powers to the First Cause of all things ?

In regard to the time of the universal deluge, secular history
is not at variance with sacred history, which relates all things
in detail. The ancient cities of Tuscany, of which some were
built on hills formed by the sea, put back their birthdays be-
yond three thousand years; in Lydia, moreover, we come
nearer to four thousand years: so that it is possible thence to
infer that the time at which the earth was left by the sea agrees
with the time of which Scripture speaks.^

As regards the manner of the rising waters, we could bring
forward various agreements with the laws of Nature. But if
some one say that in the earth the centre of gravity does not
always coincide with the centre of the figure, but recedes now
on one side, and now on the other, in proportion as subterra-
nean cavities have formed in different places, it is possible to
assign a simple reason why the fluid, which in the beginning
covered all things, left certain places dry, and returned again
to occupy them.

The universal deluge may be explained with the same ease
if a sphere of water, or at least huge reservoirs, be conceived
around a fire in the middle of the earth ; thence, without the
movement of the centre, the pouring forth of the pent-up water
P. 78. could be derived. But the following method also seems to me
to be very simple, whereby both a lesser depth of the valleys
and a sufficient amount of water are obtained without taking
into account the centre, or figure, or gravity. For if we shall
have conceded (i) That by the slipping of fragments of certain
strata, the passages were stopped through which the sea pene-
trating into hollow places of the earth sends forth the water
to bubbling springs ; (2) That the water undoubtedly enclosed
in the bowels of the earth, was, by the force of the known sub-
terranean fire in part driven toward springs, and in part forced
up into the air through the pores of the ground which had not

^ Steno accepted the chronology of Archbishop Usher, which assfgned the creation of the
world to the year 4004 B.C. In this connection, see also J. Woodward, An Essay Toward a
Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies y Especially Miner alsy etc., London,
first edition, 1695 ; J. Arbuthnot, An Examination of Dr. Woodward'' s Account of the
Deluge. . . . With a Comparison between Stend^s Philosophy and the Doctor^s in the Case
of Marine Bodies Dugout of the Earthy London, 1697.

THE PRODROMUS 267

yet been covered with water ; that, moreover, the water which
not only is always present in the air but also was mixed with it
in the manner previously described, fell in the form of rain ;
(3) That the bottom of the sea was raised through the enlarg-
ing of subterranean caverns; (4) That the cavities remaining
on the surface of the earth were filled with earthy matter
washed from the higher places by the constant falling of rains ;
(5) That the very surface of the earth was less uneven, because
nearer to its beginnings — if we shall have granted all this, we
shall have admitted nothing opposed to Scripture, or reason, or
daily experience.

What happened on the surface of the earth while it was cov-
ered with water, neither Scripture nor Nature makes clear;
this only can we assert from Nature, that deep valleys were
formed at that time. This is (i) because the cavities, made
larger by the force of subterranean fires, furnished room for
greater downfalls; (2) because a return passage had to be
opened for the waters into the deeper parts of the earth;
P. 74. (3) because to-day, in places far from the sea are seen deep
valleys filled with many marine deposits.

As for the fifth aspect, which revealed huge plains after the
earth had again become dry. Nature proves that those plains
existed, and Scripture does not gainsay it. For the rest,
whether the entire sea presently receded, or whether, indeed,
in the course of ages new chasms opening afforded opportunity
for disclosing new regions, it is possible to determine nothing
with certainty, since Scripture is silent, and the history of
nations regarding the first ages after the deluge is doubtful
in the view of the nations themselves, and thought to be
full of myths. This, indeed, is certain, that a great amount
of earth was carried down every year into the sea (as is easily
clear to one who considers the size of rivers, and their long
courses through inland regions, and the countless number
of mountain streams, in short, all the sloping places of the
earth), and that the earth thus carried down by rivers, and
added day by day to the shore, left new lands suited for
new habitations.

This is in fact confirmed by the belief of the ancients, in
accordance with which they called whole regions the gifts

268 NICOLAUS STENO

of rivers ^ of like name, as also by the traditions of the Greeks,^
since they relate that men, descending little by little from
the mountains, inhabited places bordering on the sea that were
sterile by reason of excessive moisture, but in course of time
became fertile.

The sixth aspect of the earth is evident to the senses ; herein
the plains left by the waters, especially by reason of erosion, and
P. 76. at times through the burning of fires, passed over into various
channels, valleys, and steep places. And it is not to be
wondered at that in the historians there is no account as to
when any given change took place. For the history of the
first ages after the deluge is confused and doubtful in secular

1 In Homer the river Nile {Odyssey IV. 477) is 6 Aiyvirro? and the country {Odyssey XVII.
448) is 1) AiyuTTTo?. Herodotus (II. 5) calls Aegypt *the gift' of the Nile, and Plato
{Timaeus, 22 D) represents an Egyptian priest as saying to Solon: 'And from this calamity
(/>. periodic destruction) the Nile, which is our never-failing savior, saves and frees us/
Cf. Strabo, Geography^ C. 36 (I. 2, 29).

* The tradition is explained at length in dialogue in Plato's Laws, 677-682 B :

' Athenian. Do the ancient traditions seem to you to contain any truth ?

Kleinias. What traditions ?

Ath. The traditions that many destructions of mankind were occasioned by deluges and
diseases and many other things, as a result of which only a small remnant of the human race
was left.

A7. Every one believes all that.

Ath. Come then. Let us think that one of many such destructions was once occasioned
by a deluge.

KL What are we to think about it ?

Ath, That those who then escaped the destruction would only be some mountain shep-
herds, small sparks of the human race preserved on the mountain tops.

KL Clearly. . . .

Ath. After this they came together in greater numbers and increased the size of their
cities, and turned to husbandry, first at the foot of the mountains. . . .

Ath. Homer also disclosed the form following the second, saying that the third arose
thus. For he says, He founded Dardania, since holy Ilios had not yet been built on the
plain, the city of mortal men, but they still dwelt at the foot of Ida with its many springs
{Iliad, XX. 216-218). . . .

Ath. Now Ilios, we say, was built when men had come down from the heights into
a large, fair plain, on a low hill watered by many rivers which descended from Ida.'

We may compare also Plato's Timaeus, 22 C ; Statesman, 270 ; Critias, 109 D.

A summary .of the passage in the Laws is given by Strabo in his Geography, C, 592, 593
(XIII. I, 25) :

' Plato conjectures that three forms of political commonwealth were established after the del-
uges. The first was upon the mountain tops, a simple and savage affair, composed of folk who
feared the waters that still flooded the plains. The second was on the foothills, composed of
folk who regained their courage little by little, since the plains were beginning to dry. The
third was in the plains. One might mention a fourth and a fifth, and possibly more, but the
last was on the sea-coast and in the islands, after all fear of a deluge had vanished.'

THE PRODROMUS 269

writers; as the ages passed, moreover, they felt constrained to
celebrate the deeds of distinguished men, not the wonders of
Nature. Nevertheless the records, which ancient writers men-
tion, of those who wrote the history of the changes which
occurred in various places, we do not possess. But since the
authors whose writings have been preserved report as marvels
almost every year, earthquakes, fires bursting forth from the
earth, overflowings of rivers and seas, it is easily apparent that
in four thousand years ^ many and various changes have taken
place.

Far astray, therefore, do they wander, who criticize the many
errors in the writings of the ancients, because they find there
various things inconsistent with the geography of to-day. I
should be unwilling to put credence in the mythical accounts of
the ancients ; but there are in them also many things to which
I would not gainsay belief. For in those accounts I find many
things of which the falsity rather than the truth seems doubtful to
me. Such are the separation of the Mediterranean Sea^ from the
western ocean; the passage from the Mediterranean into the
Red Sea; and the submersion of the island Atlantis.' The
description of various places in the journeys of Bacchus, Trip-
tolemus, Ulysses, iEneas, and of others, may be true, although
P. 76. it does not correspond with present day facts. Of the many
changes which have taken place over the whole extent of
Tuscany embraced between the Arno and the Tiber, I shall
adduce evident proofs in the Dissertation itself ; and although
the time, in which the individual changes occurred, cannot be
determined, I shall nevertheless adduce those arguments from
the history of Italy, in order that no doubt may be left in the
mind of anyone.

And this is the succinct, not to say disordered, account of the

^ In order to account for the evolution of earth features within the time limit imposed by
his belief in U^her^s chronology of creation, Steno is compelled to adopt a theory of violent
catastrophes in nature.

* See p. 210, note i.

' Plato, Tint€uusy 25, c, d : * But later, when violent earthquakes and deluges occurred, in
a single day and night of misfortune, all your military power in a body sank into the earth, and
in a like manner the island Atlantis sank and disappeared in the sea. For this reason the sea
in that region is even now impassable and impenetrable because a shoal of mud (reading
xdpra jSpax^os instead of PaSlog) forms a barrier which was caused by the sinking bland/
Compare also Crstias, 108 £, ff.

NICOLAUS STENO

principal things which I had decided to set forth in the Disser-
tation, not only with greater clearness but also with greater ful-
ness, adding a description of the places where I have observed
each thing.

p. 77. Let Vincentius Viviani examine this work, and report
whether there is anything in it which is contrary to the Catho-
lic Faith or to good morals.

ViNC. DE Bardis, Vicar General of Florence.

Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Sir :

Having seen the new and admirable Prodromus of the most
distinguished Steno, the Dissertation Concerning a Solid
Naturally Contained Within a Solidy or rather, if you prefer,
of the whole of Physics, and having recognized in it a perfectly
sincere manifestation of the Catholic faith and of good morals,
as in the very candid author, I have indeed thought the same
worthy of being entrusted to type on this, the thirtieth day of
August, 1668.

Vincentius Viviani.

Let it be printed servatis servandis.

ViNC. DE Bardis, Vicar General of Florence.

The seventh day of December, 1668.

Let Franciscus Redi, Consultor of the Holy Office at Flor-
ence, examine it and report.

Fr. Jacobus Tosini, Vicar General of the Holy Office at Florence.

Most Reverend Father:

The Prodromus of the very learned and expert Nicolaus

Steno's Dissertation Concerning a Solid Naturally Contained

p. 78. Within a Solid, adorned in the highest degree with sound and

noble learning, I have seen, and I have judged it worthy of

printing.

Franciscus Redi.

With the foregoing attestation let it be printed at Florence
this day, the thirteenth of December, 1668.

Fr. Joseph Tamagninus, Chancellor of the Holy Office at Florence.

Gig. Federighi, Senator and Auditor of the Holy Apostolic Cham-
ber ^ and through him, Benedetto Gori.

271

EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES

Inasmuch as the brevity of my hurried writing has left not a few
things insufficiently explained, especially where the treatment con-
cerns angular bodies and the strata of the earth, in order to afford
some sort of remedy for that defect, I have decided to add here the
following figures, chosen from very many others.

[Plate IX]

The first thirteen figures, intended to illustrate the angular bodies
of crystal, fall into two classes.

The first class contains seven varieties of a plane in which the
axis of the crystal lies.

In figures i, 2, and 3, the axes of the parts, of which the body of
the crystal is composed, form a straight line ; but there is an inter-
mediate prism, which is lacking in Figure i, appears rather short in
2, longer in 3.

In Figure 4, the axes of the parts which make up the body of
the crystal do not form a straight line.

Figures 5 and 6 belong to the class of those which I could pre-
sent in countless numbers to prove that in the plane of the axis
both the number and the length of the sides are changed in various
ways without changing the angles ; that various cavities are left in
the very middle of the crystal, and that various layers are formed.
Figure 7 in the plane of its axis shows how both the number and the
length of the sides are sometimes increased in various ways, some-
times diminished, from the new crystalline matter placed above the
planes of the pyramids.

The second class contains six varieties of base of planes.^
In Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11, there are only six sides ; with this dif-
ference, nevertheless, that in Figure 8 all the sides are equal, while

1 The cross section parallel to the basal pinacoid.

272

Plate IX.

8

10

c

>

if

12

13

Stexo's Figures 1-13, ix Exact Size.

THE PRODROMUS 273

in Figures 9 and 1 1 not all, but only the opposite sides, are equal ;
in Figure 10, any given opposite sides are unequal.

In Figure 1 2 the plane of the base, which ought to be a hexagon,
is bounded by twelve sides.

Figure 13 shows how sometimes the length and number of the
sides are changed in various ways without changing the angles, on
the plane of the base, while new crystalline matter is being placed
upon the planes of the pyramids.

274 NICOLAUS STENO

[Plate X]

The six following figures explain two different kinds of angular
bodies of iron.

Figures 14, 15, 16 serve to illustrate those angular bodies of iron
which are enclosed by twelve planes ; Figure 14, in fact, shows all the
twelve planes spread out into a single plane, six of these being tri-
angular and brilliant, the remaining six pentagonal and striated.
Figure 15 is the plane of the base of the same body. Figure 16 is
the plane of the axis of the same body.

Figures 17, 18, and 19 serve to illustrate those angular bodies
of iron which are bounded by thirty planes.

Figure 17 shows all the thirty planes spread out into a single
plane ; of these six planes are pentagonal and brilliant, twelve tri-
angular and also brilliant, six triangular and striated, six oblong
quadrilaterals and brilliant.

Figure 18 is the plane of the base of the same body.

Figure 19 is the plane of the axis of the same body.

Plate X.

cp

14

15

16

17

18

19

Steno's Figures 14-19, in Exact Size except 17.

276 NICOLAUS STENO

[Plate XI]

The last six figures, while they show in what way we infer the six
distinct aspects of Tuscany from its present appearance, at the same
time serve for the readier comprehension of what we have said
about the earth's strata. The dotted lines represent the sandy strata
of the earth, so called from the predominant element, although vari-
ous strata of clay and rock are mixed with them ; the rest of the
lines represent strata of rock, likewise named from the predominant
element, although other strata of a softer substance are sometimes
found among them. In the Dissertation itself I have explained the
letters of the figures in the order in which the figures follow one
another : here I shall briefly review the order of change.

Figure 25 shows the vertical section of Tuscany at the time when
the rocky strata were still whole and parallel to the horizon.

Figure 24 shows the huge cavities eaten out by the force of fires
or waters while the upper strata remained unbroken.

Figure 23 shows the mountains and valleys caused- by the break-
ing of the upper strata.

Figure 22 shows new strata, made by the sea, in the valleys.

Figure 21 shows a portion of the lower strata in the new beds
destroyed, while the upper strata remain unbroken.

Figure 20 shows the hills and valleys produced there by the
breaking of the upper sandy strata.

Plate XI.

F

s. B

21
A

::=-A:;y:,

c

'^

y\\ 1

I

nnnnn

ipP

J

o i—

n v^

F

V B

■ • • • •-•••-•-•-•

22
A

• •-•»••••-

c /

G

1 i/v

jW I

nnnnn

UUUUU

^v^ ^^C • • •

• • • • • •■•-• •

• • • •^r _^r

• • ^^ ^^

^^p

\"K

23

F

25

G

*•

Stexo's Figures 20-25, in Exact Size.

INDEX

Abel, 211, n. I; 224, n. I.

Academics, 213, n. 2; 214.

Accademia del Cimento, founding of, 180 ; Steno

member of, 209.
Acosta, de, 236, n. 2.
Accretions, 225 ; inorganic, 232, n. 2 ; to mar-

casites, 247.
iEneas, 269.
^chylus, 205, n. 3.
i€sop, 252, n. I.
Aetites, 224, n. I.
Africa, land bridge from, 174.
Agate, 224, 225.
Agent, as form or idea, 216 ; determining motion,

216; universal, 217.
Agricola, George, on glossopetrae, 211, n. i ; on

mountain formation, 232, n. 2; on gnomes,

232, n. 2; on divining rod, 236, n. i.
Air, in breathing, 221 ; Hippocrates* theory of,

223 ; explosion of, 231 ; in crystals, 238.
Albertus Magnus, on glossopetrse, 211, n. i.
Alchemy, 249, n. 2.
Alimentary canal, 221.
All Soub' Day, 180, n. 3.
Alps, 234, n. 2.
Alum, 243; feathery, 225.
Amethysts, 225.
Amianthus, 224.

Ammon, marine deposits at temple of, 210, n. i.
Ammonium chloride, 261, n. 2.
Amniotic fluid, 220.

Amsterdam, Steno's arrival in, 176, 183, 208, n. i.
Anaximander, 251, n. i.
Ancients, 267, 269 ; on fossils, 210 f.
Ancona, 256.

Angelis, de, on Steno's degree, 176, n. i.
Angles, law of constancy of interfacial, 171; of

crystals, 237, 248 ; of hematite, 245 ; of mar-

casites, 248.
Angular bodies, 220; with meaning of crystals,

225, 226, 244 ; of iron, 244 f. ; place and pro-
duction of, 244 ; planes of hematite, 245 ;

striation of, 244 f.
Animals, 216 ; fluids in, 221 ; formation of, 221 ;

parts of, 257 ; place of growth in, 220 ; shells

of, 218.
Antimony, 218.
Apennines, 260, n. i.

Aqua fortis, 243, n. i ; regia, 243, n. I.

Aquaria, 253.

Arabian Gulf, 210, n. i.

Arbuthnot, 266, n. i.

Arezzo, fossils at, 259.

Aristotle, 251, n. i.

Armenia, salt lakes in, 210, n. I.

Arno, extinct animals in valley of, 174, 260, n. i;

269.
Amolfini, Lavinia Felice Cenanni, 180.
Artaxerxes, 210, n. i.
Arteries, 222.
Ashes, in strata, 229, 232.
Atlantic, level of, 210, n. i.
Atlantis, 269.
Atoms, 216.
Axes, of crystals, 237, 272 f.

Bacchus, 269.

Bacon, Francis, 181, n. 3 ; 196, 205, n. 3.

Balanoids, 256.

Banks, Sir Joseph, 197.

Bardis, de, 271.

Barlaeus, Caspar, 232, n. i.

Bartholin, Thomas, 175, 176 f., 207, n. 3 ; 21 1, n. i*

Baudry, Paul, 205, n. 3.

Beaumont, Elie de, 201.

Bezoar, 224.

Bitumen, 229, 232, 261.

Bladder, 221.

Blaes, Gerard, 176, 177, 178.

Blondel, 181.

Blood, circulation of, 222.

Boccone, 260, n. i.

Bodies, produced naturally, 215 ; not produced

by earth and rocks, 218.
Bohemia, 232, n. 2.
Bologna, 186.
Bones, broken, 225 ; fibrous, 258 ; fossil taken

for human, 258 ; enclosed in solids, 218.
Boni, 232, n. 2.
Borch, Ole, see Borrichius.
Borrichius, 175, 178.
Bossuet, 180.
Boyle, Robert, 198, 199, 199, n. i ; 2CX), n. i ;

232, n. I ; 236, n. i ; 241, n. 2; 243, n. i ;

249, n. 2.
Brazil, 232.

277

278

INDEX

Breccia, 255, n. i.
Bruno, Giordano, 169.
Burial, Chinese, 236.
Byssus, 255.
Byzantium, 210, n. i.

Calculi, 221.

Callus, 225.

Canals, 222.

Candolle, 181, n. 3.

Capellini, Giovanni, 186.

Capillaries, 221, 222, 223.

Casserius, 176.

Cause, First, 264, 266.

Caverns, 234, 265, 267.

Caves, 234.

Cavities, in body, 222; in crystals, 238; in earth,
230; in rocks, 238, 256; in shells, 255.

Chalcedony, 224.

Chamberlain, 255, n. i.

Charcoal, 229, 260.

Chemists, 216.

Chereau, 175, n. 2; 176, n. i.

Chiana, 260, n. i.

Chinese, 236.

Chorion, 220.

Christian V, 183.

Cicero, 176, n. 4; 205, n. 3.

Qnnabar, 218.

Clanis, 260, n. i.

Clays, 255, n. i.

Qeavage, of selenites, 249, n. i.

Cockles, 210, n. I ; 251.

Concretions, 226, n. i; 255, n. i.

Consani, Vincenzo, 185.

Copenhagen, 175, 176, 185.

Copper, 218, 225, 246.

Cosimo III, 182, 183, 185.

Cracks, in concretions, 255, n. i; in strata, 231,
232.

Crania, 257.

Creation, strata at, 228; chronology of, 269.

Crete, 210, n. i.

Cribration, 222, 223, 224.

Crusts, 228, 229.

Crystals, angles of, 237 ; cause of, 242 ; columnar
form of, 171; faces of, 171; figures of, 272 ft'.;
formation of, 237 ff.; growth of, 171, 238 f.;
hardening of, 218, 237; hues of, 240, 243; en-
closed in solid, 218; law of interfacial angles
of, 171; lustre of, 240; of mountains, 225;
movement in, 242; of niter, 171, 219; nucleus
of, 171, 172; orientation of molecules in, 171;
parts of, 237; phantom, 171; planes of, 237,
239; prisms of, 237; pyramids of, 237; means

quartz, 218, n. i; 220, n. i; 237, n. i; in

shells, 254; surface of, 239.
Crystalline matter, 238, 239, 240, 241.
Crystallography, 171.

Cubes, of marcasites, 247; truncated, 245.
Cuvier, 260, n. i.
Cybotus, 232, n. 2.
Cynics, 213, n. 2; 214.

Damigeron, 224, n. i.

Dardania, 268, n. 2.

Dati, Carlo, 180.

Davis, Robert, 198.

Deluge, Universal, 169, 174, 258, 264, 265, 266,

268.
Democritus, 205.
Demons, 232, n. 2.
Demosthenes, 224, n. i.
Dendrites, 225, 262.
Denmark, 232, n. 2.
Dennis, 258, n. 2.
Deperet, 260, n. i.

Deposits, alluvial, 263; marine, 172, 226.
Descartes, 170, 179, 228.
Devil-fishes, 257, n. i.
Diamonds, 225, 246.
Diels, 251, n. i.

Dissertation, 181, 208, 215, 248, 254, 269, 276.
Divination, 236.
Divining rod, 173, 236, n. i.
Dog's head, dissection of, 177.
Dragon, 236.

Drebell, Cornelius, 249, n. 2.
Ducts, lymphatic, 222.

Eagle, 224, n. i.

Eagle-fish, teeth of, 257.

Eagle-rays, 257, n. i.

Eaglestone, 224, 224, n. i.

Earth, productivity of, 212, 216, 217.

Earthquakes, 173, 232, n. 2 ; 235, 269.

Egypt, 210, n. I ; 268, n. I.

Elba, 236, 244, n. i ; 262.

Elements, chemical, 216 ; four, 216.

Elephants, 174, 259.

Elixir, 249, n. 2.

Epicurus, 213, n. 2.

Erasistratus, 222, n. 2.

Eratosthenes, 210, n. i.

Erosion, 268.

Ethiopian, hue of, 252.

Eutropius, 260, n. X .

Euxine, outlet of, 210, n. I.

Exhalations, 235.

Eyelids, 221.

INDEX

279

Eyes, 221, 242.
E]rsson, 177.

Fabronius, 232, n. 2.

Faces, of crystal, 239.

Fat, 225.

Femurs, 257, 259.

Federighi, 271.

Ferdinand II, collection of minerals, 246, n. i ;
death of, 182 ; dedication to, 205 ; fossils
found by, 260, n. i ; patron of Steno, 169,
179, 180^ 207, 211, n. I.

Fibres, of muscle, 222, 224, 225 ; of plants, 221,
225.

Fiesole, 259.

Figures, explanation of, 272 ff.

Filaments, of mineral, 224 ; in rocks, 256 ; in
receiver, 242 ; of shells, 174, 250 f., 254.

Filings, of iron, 241.

Fire, agency in breaking up crystals, 243 ; agency
in mountain formation, 232, n. 2 ; proof of in
strata, 229 ; subterranean, 232, 266, 267.

Fish, 253, 257.

Fissures, containing crystals, 238 ; containing
minerals, 218.

Floods, 211, 229,258, 260, 269.

Florence, Geologists' Congress in honor of Steno,
186 ; fossils from Arezzo in, 260, n. i ; Steno's
arrival in, 183 ; topography of, 173.

Flourens, 182, n. 3.

Fluid, aqueous, 219 ; common, 222, 223 ; de-
fined, 222; differing from solid, 171 ; external,
220, 221 : internal, 220, 221, 223 ; peculiar,
223 ; penetrating, 217 ; permeating, 214, 221 ;
petrifying, 256.

Fontenelle, 208, n. 2.

Foramina, of body, 221.

Fossils, elephants, 260, n. i ; origin, 170, 173,
200 ; from sea, 208, 208, n. 2 ; 210, 21 1.

Frederik III, 181, 182, 208, n. i.

Furnaces, 249, n. 2,

FUrstenberg, von, 184.

Galen, 222, n. 2.
Galileo, 247, n. 2.
Gases, subterranean, 231.
Generation, spontaneous, 251, n. i.
Genesis, 263, n. 3; 264, n. i, 2.
Germany, silver in, 246.
Gerra, 210, n. i.
Giants, 258, n. i.

Gibraltar, land passage at, 210, n. i.
Glands, 207, 222.

Glass, distinguished from crystal, 171; formation
of, 243.

Glossopelrae Melitenses, 211, 211, n. i.

Gnomes, 232, n. 2.

God, 216.

Gold, 243, n. I.

Golias, Jacob, 178.

Goniometer, 171.

Gori, 271.

Granites, 225.

Grafting, 215.

Grass, in strata, 228.

Greeks, 268.

Griff enfeldt. Count, 178, 183.

Growth, of crystals, 238; of mountains, 232.

Gypsum, 218, n. i.

Hamburg, 184.

Hannibal, pack animals of, 174, 259, 260, n. i.

Hannover, 182, n. i.

Hardening, of crystals, 237; of solids, 218.

Harvey, 222, n. 4; 251, n. i.

Heart, 207.

Heat, 232.

Heiberg, 255, n. i.

Hellespont, 210, n. i.

Hematite, 244, n. i.

Heraclitus, 205, n. 3.

Herodotus, 268, n. i.

Hesperian, sinking of, 198, n. 3.

Hills, formation of, 232, n. 2; 263.

Hippocrates, 223.

Hoar-frost, 261.

HoUand, religious tolerance in, 178, 180.

Homer, 268, n. i.

Hooke, Robert, 173, 197, 201.

Hoover, 232, n. 2; 236, n. i.

Horizontality, of strata, 172, 230.

Home, Van, 178.

Horns, 257.

Hues, of crystals, 243; of pearls, 252; of shells,

251, 254.
Hughes, 176, n. i.
Humboldt, A. von, 182, n. 3.
Hungary, 232, n. 2.
Huxley, 182, n. 3; 251, n. i.

Ice, making, 215.

Ida, 268, n. 2.

Idols, 236.

Iliad, 268, n. 2.

Ilios, 268, n. 2.

Incrustations, growth of, 220, 224; on solids, 226.

India, 246.

Innsbruck, 182.

Insects, 256.

Interstices, in body, 214.

28o

INDEX

Intestines, 221.

Iron, cubes of, 225 ; of Elba, 236 ; growth of,

236; n. 3; figures of crystals of, 273; filings

of, 241, 242.
Irradiations, 237.
Italy, 269.

Jacobaeus, Matthias, 178.

Johann Friedrich, Duke of Hannover, 183, 184.

Kidneys, 222, n. 2.

Kircher, Athanasius, 180, 182, n. 2 ; 234, n. I ;

236, n. I.
Knorr, 211, n. i.

Laboulb^ne, 224, n. 2.

Labyrinth, 206.

Lake Sirbonis, 210, n. i.

Lamellibranch, 256, n. i. *

Lapilli, 231.

Lapis lazuli, 218.

Laws, of nature, 215.

Layers, deposition of, 226, 227 ; mineral layers

in rivers, 228 ; of rock, 226.
Lefebure, 205, n. 3.
Leibnitz, 182, n. i ; 211, n. i.
Lernsean Hydra, 206.
Leyden, 178.

Libya, connected with Europe, 210, n. I.
Limonite, 236, n. 3.
Linnaeus, 187.
Lithodomus, 256, n. i.
Lithophagus, 256, n. i.
Littre, 243, n. i.
Liver, 222, n. 2.
Livy, 260, n. I.
Load-stone, see Magnet.
Lucca, 180.
Lucullus, 253.
Lungs, 222, n. 2.
Lustre, in crystals, 240.
Lydia, 266.
Lymphatic ducts, 222.

Maar, I75> n. i; 178, n. i, 2; 179, n. 2; 182,
n. 2; 188 ff., 195, 197, 198, n. 2, 3; 202,
206, n. I ; 207, n. 5 ; 211, n. i ; 222, n. i ;
222, n. 3 ; 223, n. i ; 224, n. 2 ; 226, n. 2 ;
232, n. I, 2 ; 234, n. i ; 236, n. i, 2 ; 246,
n. 3; 255, n. I.

Magalotti, Lorenzo, 180.

Magnet, 170; filings about, 241, 242; lines of
force, 171.

Maillet, de, 169.

Major, Forsythe, 260, n. i.

Malta, Bartholin's journey in, 211, n. i ; stones
from, 211, n. i ; teeth from, 257.

Manni, 184.

Marbles, 225.

Marcasites, cubes of, 225 ; formation of crystals
of, 247 ff . ; hardening in, 218; enclosed in
solid, 218; = pyrites, 218, n. i.

Maria Flavia del Nero, 180.

Marine deposits, 172, 210.

Matiana, 210, n. i.

Matrix, of crystals, 238.

Matter, constitution of, 216 ; surrounding mussels,
254.

Maurits, Count Jan, 232, n. i.

Maximilian Heinrich, 184.

Maxims of Morality, 214.

Medici, Leopold de', 180, 209, n. I.

Mediterranean, 210, n. i ; 265, 269.

Medulla, 225.

Melina, 256, n. i.

Membrane, dividing, 222.

Menstruum, 243, 243, n. i.

Mercury, 218, 243, n. I ; tree, 261, 262.

Metals, growth of, 232, n. 2.

Metamorphism, 255, n. i.

Microscope, 256.

Mineral, replacements of, 173; repositories of,
235 ff. ; veins of, 173.

Minerals, formation of, 261 ; enclosed in bodies,
218 ; origin of, 235 f.

Miners, 236.

Mines, 232, n. 2.

Molars, 257, n. I.

Molecules, orientation of, 171.

MoUusks, bivalve, 256, 257, 258 ; petrified, 225,
226 ; produced by Nature, 217 ; shells of, 249
ff.; structure of, 173.

Monardes, 246, n. 3.

Montanari, 232, n. 2.

Moss, 262.

Motion, artificial, 215 ; of crystalline matter, 241 ;
determination of, 214 f., 216 ; first cause of,
215 ; of particles in fluids, 249 ; principle of,
perception of, 214.

Mountains, causes of, 173 ; chains of, 234 ; crests
of, 234 ; crystals of, 219 ; under deluge, 264 ;
growth of, 232, 232, n. 2 ; origin of, 231 ff.;
overthrown, 234 ; overwhelmed, 263 ; of scrip-
ture, 265 ; types of, 173 ; upheaval of, 228.

Mount Casius, 210, n. I.

Mouth, 221.

Movements, in crystal, 242 ; of fluid forming mar-
casites, 248.

Munster, 184.

Murano, 182.

INDEX

aSi

Morchison, 234, n. 2.

Muscle, fibres, 222.

Muscles, Steno's work on, 208 ; substance of, 222.

Musgrave, George, 232, n. i.

Mussels, 241 ; pearl*bearing, 255 ; substance in

bivalve, 253.
Myliobatidse, 257, n. i.
Myths, 267, 269.
Mytilidse, 256, n. i.

Naples, 182, 253, n. 1 ; 256.

Natural Questions, solution of, 210, 213.

Nature, Laws of, 214 ; products of, 215, 216, 217 ;

unknown, 217.
Needham, 176, n. 2.
Nepheline, 255, n. i.
Nephiri, 255, 255, n. I.
Nephrite, 255, n. i.
Nile, 268, n. I.

Nilsdatter, Anna, 178, n. 3 ; 207, n. 4.
Niter, crystals of, 219.
Nose, 221.

Odyssey, 180, 268, n. i.

(Esophagus, 221.

Oldenburg, Henry, 197, 199 ff.

Onyx, 224.

Orange, 220.

Organs, excretory, 221.

Ostrea, 256, n. i.

Ovum, 222.

Oysters, 210, n. i; 241, 251, 255.

Palissy, Bernard, 208, n. 2; 224, n. i.

Panchina, 258, n. 2.

Parenchymata, 222, 224.

Parotid duct, 176.

Particles, added to a solid, 226 f.; changeable,

216; growth of, 220, 221; motion of, 214, 216.
Passageways, for things issuing from the earth,

234 f.
Paulli, Jacob Henry. 177.
Paulli, Simon, 176.
Pearls, formation of, 252; imitation of, 252; in

mussels, 255; structure of, 174.
Pectens, 256.
Pectin, 256. n. i.
Pedersen, 175, 178, n. 3.
Peduncle, 220.
Pelusium, 210, n. i.
Penetrating fluid, 241.
Pepys, Samuel, 197, n. i.
Peripatetics, 213, n. 2; 214.
Peru, 236.
Phrygia, 210, n. i.

Pine cones, in strata, 228.

Pinna, 255.

Pisa, 255, n. I.

Piso, Willem, 232, n. i.

Pitti Palace, 182, 246, n. 2.

Place, definition of term, 219; place of crystal
formation, 237; of production, 217.

Plains, 267.

Planes, of crystals of hematite, 244, 245; of
crystals of quartz, 237, 239; of diamonds, 246;
of marcasites, 248.

Plants, anatomy of, 221; fibrous parts of, 225;
fossil, 226, 260 f. ; formation of, 221 ; enclosed
in solid, 218; metallic, 225; place of, 219;
roots of, 220.

Plato, 222, n. 4; 268, n. 2; 269, n. 3.

Pleistocene, 260, n. I.

Plenkers, 175, 175, n. i; 178, n. i; 178, n. 3;
179, n. 2; 180 f.; 180, n. 2; 183, 184, 185,
188, 211, n. I.

Pliny, 211, n. i; 224, n. i; 253, n. i.

Plutarch, 253, n. i.

Poisoner, 224, n. i.

Polybius, 260, n. I.

Pompeius, 253, n. i.

Pontus, 210, n. I.

Pope Innocent XI, 184.

Pores, 221, 223, 253.

Porta all' Arco, 258, n. 2.

Prague, 182.

Pregnancy, 224, n. i.

Prism, 237.

Prodromus, bibliography of, 194 ff. ; date of com-
position, i8x; division of subjects, 170; geo-
metrical form of, 170; science of, 169; scope
of, 181 f.; use of word, 181, n. 3; translation
of, 205 ff.

Production, of diamonds, 246; of hematite, 244;
of substances, 216.

Propontis, 210, n. i.

Pumice stone, in strata, 229.

Pyramids, of crystal, 237, 239; of hematite, 245.

Pyrites, 218, n. i; 248, n. i.

Quartz, 218, n. i; chemical constitution of, 219,
n. I ; = crystals, 220, n. i ; 237, n. i ; 245,
n. 3.

Quicksand, 235.

Rabelais, 205, n. 3.

Rains, 229, 232, 267.

Ray, 232, n. i; 257, n. I.

Receiver, 242.

Redi, Francesco, 180, 181, 251, n. i; 271.

Red Sea, passage to, 269.

983

INDEX

EiAMwHmi, of light, 171 ; in glass, 243.

Replacements, 220, 225.

Repositories, of minerals, 235 f.

Reservoirs, 234, 266.

Retort, 242.

Rivers, agency in mountain formation, 232, n. 2;

changed by earthquake, 235; deposits of, 267;

gifts of, 268.
Rocks, 172.

Rome, 182, 229, 258, 259.
Rome de Tlsle, 171.
Roots, of plants, 220.
Rose, Valentine, 224, n. i.
Rosnel, de, 236, n. 2 ; 246, n. 3.
Rush, in strata, 228.

Salisbury, 255, n. i.

Salivary duct, 177.

Salt, deposit of, 228.

Salt-water lakes, 210, n. i.

Sand, layers of, 228.

Sandstone, 258, n. 2.

San Lorenzo, 185, 186.

Santa Maria Nuova, 179, 180.

Sap, of earth, 232, n. 2.

Sardinia, 210, n. i.

Savignani, Emilio, 180.

Scallop shells, 210, n. i.

Scandinavia, 184.

Scapulae, 259.

Schmidt, Waldmar, 186 f.

Schumacher, Peter, see Griffenfeldt.

Schwerin, 185.

Scripture, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267.

Sea, 173, 228, 265.

Sea-devils, 257, n. i.

Secretions, 223, 226, n. i.

Sediments, 172, 206, 220, 227, 229.

Selenites, 218, 218, n. i ; 249.

Seneca, 206, n. 2 ; 213, n. 2.

Septarium, 255, n. i.

Serpentine, 255, n. i.

Shark, teeth of, 206, 207, 211, 211, n. i; 251,

257-
Sheep's head, dissection of, 177.

Shells, crystalline, 218 ; in earth, 253 ; helical,
256 ; of marine animals, 226 ; of mollusks,
173, 250 f. ; petrified, 218 ; porous, 254.

Ships, in deposits, 228.

Sicily, 210, n. i ; 256.

Silver, 218, 246.

Skeletons, 260, n. i.

Skin, 221.

Slipping, of strata, 231.

Solid, addition to, 220; contained within solid.

170, 208 ; differs from fluid, 214 ; dug from
earth, 226 ; hardening of, 218 ; production of,
209, 218, 220, 224, 226.

Solon, 268, n. I.

Soul, vrorld, 216; agency of, 217.

Speculation, 170.

Spinoza, Baruch, 178, 184, n. i.

Spleen, 222, n. i.

Springs, 229, 235, 266.

Steno, life of, 175 ff.; writings of, 188 £; bibliog-
raphy on, 202 f.

Stichman, Johannes, 207, n. 4.

Stiermark, 232, n. 2.

Stoics, 213, n. 2 ; 214.

Stokes, 225, n. i.

Stomach, 221.

Stones, 235 f.

Storms, 229.

Strabo, 210, n. i ; 268, n. I ; 268, n. 2.

Strata, alterations of, 234 ; deposition of, 172,
227 ff. ; fissures in, 173 ; horizontality of, 172 ;
manner and place of production, 219 ; order of,
173; slipping of, 266 ; thrusts of, 173 ; in Tus-
cany, 262 ff., 273 ; variation in character of,
172.

Strato, 210, n. i.

Striation, in crystals, 239, 240 ; in hematite, 244,
246 ; in marcasites, 247, 248.

Substance, crystalline, 225 ; place and manner
of production, 170; tenuous, 216.

Sulphur, 232.

Sun, 216, 217.

Swammerdam, Jan, 178, 251, n. I.

Sylvius, 177, 178, 179.

Talc, 249, 249, n. 2.

Tamagninus, 271.

Targioni, 260, n. i.

Taygetus, 232, n. 2.

Teeth, of sharks, 21 1, 257 ; eagle-fish, 257 ; from

Malta, 257.
Telliamed, see de Maillct, 169.
Tendons, 225.
Testacea, 251, 253, 256.
Theatrum Anatomicum, 183.
Thera, 232, n. 2.
Therasia, 232, n. 2.
Thevenot, 178, 179.
Thrusts, 231.
Tiber, 260, n. i, 269.
Time, evolution of, 258.
Titian, 205, n. 3.
Titopolis, 184.

Tolerance, religious tolerance in Holland, 178.
Tongue stones, 211, n. i.

INDEX

283

Tools, of miners, 236.

Tosini, 271.

Tozzetti, 255, n. i; 260, n, i.

Trachea, 221.

Traditions, of early civilization, 268, n. 2.

Trasumene Lake, 259.

Trebia, 260, n. I.

Trees, in strata, 228.

Trigautius, 236, n. i.

Triptolemus, 269.

Truth, proverb of Truth in a well, 205, n. 3.

Tuff, 220.

Tuscany, geological changes in, 170, 209, 234,

n. 2 ; 262 ff., 269, 276; fossils in, 260, n. I ;

265, 266 , pearl-bearing mussels from, 255.
Tylor, 258, n. i.

Ulysses, 269.

Umbilical vessels, 220.

Urethra, 221.

Usher, chronology of, 174, 266, n. i ; 269, n. i.

Uterus, 221, 222.

Valleys, 232, n. 2; 265, 267.
Valmont-Bomare, 224, n. 2.
Vapors, subterranean, 229.
Vegetatio, 232, n. 2.
Veins, 222; in rocks, 225.
Vertebrae, of fishes, 257.
Vienna, 182.

Vinci, Leonardo da, 169, 173.
Virtus formativa, 211, n. i.

Viscera, 225.

Vitriol, 243.

Viviani, Vincenzo, 169, 179, 180, 181.

Volcanoes, 172.

Volterra, shells in, 174; walls of, 258, 259.

Walchs, 211, n. i.

Water, agency in mountain formation, 232, n. 2;

in crystals, 238; deposits of turbid water, 219;

issuing from earth, 234.
Weld, 197, n. I.

Well, proverb of Truth in, 205, n. 3.
Wells, 235.

Wharton, 176, n. 5; 177.
White, 249, n. 2.
Wichfeld, 175, n. i; 178, n. i; 179, n. 2; 255,

n. I.
W^illis, 179.
Wind, agency in mountain formation, 232, n. 2;

breaking from mountain, 234 f.
Winslow, Jacques Benigne, 178, n. 4.
Winter, 197.
Woodward, 266, n. I.
Wood worth, 198.
Worms, 221, 255, 256.
Wren, 197, n. I.

Xanthus, 210, n. i.
Xerxes, 253, n. i.

Zittel, von, 182, 204, 256, n. i.

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